Rear-Admiral Frederick William Beechey FRS (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer.

[2] In 1821, as an officer on HMS Adventure, he took part in the survey of the Mediterranean coast of Africa under the direction of Captain William Henry Smyth.

The whole voyage lasted more than three years, and in the course of it, Beechey discovered several islands in the Pacific, and an excellent harbour near Cape Prince of Wales.

He wrote, "...with whips, canes and goads or sharp, pointed sticks to preserve silence and maintain order, and what seemed more difficult than either, to keep the congregation in their kneeling posture.

One of his crew, Petty Officer John Bechervaise, gave a detailed account of the voyage in his Thirty-six Years of a Seafaring Life by an Old Quartermaster, published privately in 1839.

[6] His daughter was painter Frances Anne Hopkins, who lived in Canada for 12 years and painted many scenes of canoe travel.