Edward Nicholas Kendall Edward Nicholas " Ned " Kendall , R . N . ( October 1800 – 12 February 1845 ) was an English hydrographer , Royal Navy officer , and polar explorer . During one of his Arctic expeditions , Kendall discovered Wollaston Land . Early years . He was born in 1800 , probably in England . His father was the naval captain Edward Kendall . The family was Cornish , descending from the Kendalls of Pelyn , near Lostwithiel , who for many generations past had been active in the politics of Cornwall and England . It has been remarked of this family , that they have perhaps sent more members to the British Senate than any other in the United Kingdom . His mother was Mary Champion Hicks ( born ca . 1775 ) . Mary ' s father was Admiral Thomas Hicks , of Maisonette , Stoke Gabriel , Devon . Kendall had three younger siblings : William Kendall , Mary Kendall , and Amelia Kendall . After receiving his education at the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth , he entered the Royal Navy in 1814 . Career . Kendall ' s career began as a Midshipman on board the HMS " Mutine " . While serving on the HMS " Erne " that wrecked in 1819 on the Isle of Sal , Cape Verde , he sustained injuries . He served on other ships , usually as a surveyor , including the trigonometrical survey in Orkney , Shetland , the coast of Ireland , and in the North Sea . In 1824 , he volunteered his services for William Edward Parry ' s third expedition to find the Northwest Passage , serving as assistant surveyor under George Francis Lyon aboard the HMS " Griper " . From 1825 - 1827 , Kendall served on another Arctic expedition , this time with John Franklin , exploring the Mackenzie River Delta as an assistant surveyor under the naturalist John Richardson . During this expedition , he discovered Wollaston Land , and traveled from Fort Franklin to York Factory . In 1827 , he was commissioned lieutenant . The following year , at the recommendation of the Royal Geographic Society , Kendall traveled aboard HMS " Chanticleer " during its scientific voyage , assisting in a pendulum experiments , and other research including the South Shetland Islands region of the Antarctic where again he conducted surveys . In 1830 , he transferred to the HMS " Hecla " to survey of the West Africa , returning to England later that year . It was then that he became employed by the Secretary of State for the Colonial Office in a secret and confidential survey of the boundary line of the British and American states , in New Brunswick . After conducting other surveys in New Brunswick , he worked on compiling a map of it in 1831 . Though there were requests for promotion thereafter , Kendall remained a lieutenant . Approximately two years later , Kendall became involved in the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company , becoming its commissioner at Fredericton . He returned to Britain by 1838 . During his later years , he served first as superintendent of the West India Mail Steam Navigation Company , and second as superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Packet Company in Southampton . Personal life . He had four children by prior issue : Edward Kay Kendall , Franklin Richardson Kendall , Robert Sinclair Kendall , and Mary Anne Kendall . His descendants include Levon Kendall . In 1832 , he married Franklin ' s niece . Mary Anne Kay was the daughter of Joseph Kay , a London architect . Her mother was Sarah Henrietta Porden , sister of Eleanor Anne Porden , Franklin ' s first wife . Kendall died in 1845 in Southampton , England , and was buried at Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight . His papers are in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society in London . Legacy . Kendall Island in the Mackenzie Delta , and Cape Kendall in view of the Coppermine River , were named in honor of Kendall by Franklin . Kendall Rocks , the southwest group of rocks in the Palmer Archipelago , are also named after Kendall .