John Lort Stokes

Admiral John Lort Stokes (1 August 1811[1] – 11 June 1885) was a Royal Navy officer who served onboard HMS Beagle for almost eighteen years.

The first ship he served on was HMS Prince Regent, and then in October 1825 he joined the crew of Beagle under Captain Phillip Parker King.

From 1831 to 1836 Stokes served under FitzRoy as assistant surveyor for the second voyage of HMS Beagle, and shared his cabin with Charles Darwin who was on board in a private capacity as a self-funded naturalist.

[6] Following this, Stokes was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and served under Commander John Clements Wickham for a survey of Australasian waters.

[7] In July 1846 Stokes was promoted to captain and commanded the steamship HMS Acheron surveying New Zealand for four years.