François-Théodore de Lapelin

François-Théodore de Lapelin (11 December 1812 – 12 January 1888) was a French naval officer who rose to the rank of Rear admiral.

[1] His parents were Jean Baptiste Augustin de Lapelin (born 1771) and Anne Thérèze Delagrange.

[3] He was with Admiral Léonard Charner when he arrived in Saigon, then capital of the French colony of Cochinchina, on 7 February 1861.

He was succeeded by André César Vérand as acting governor, then on 22 February 1867 by Louis Auguste Bertier.

In 1872 de Lapelin observed that, "It is through the Missions of central Oceania that the indigenes know France, because we do no business there, and our citizens, other than the missionary fathers and brothers, are extremely rare."

However, the French were engaged in a competition with the European powers and the United States to take control of as many islands as possible.

[8] DeLapelin collected a beautifully carved Moai head from Cook Bay (Hanga Roa, now held in the Musée du quai Branly.

[1] The decoration was presented on 27 April 1874 by Vice-Admiral Charles de Dompierre d'Hornoy, Minister of the Navy..