George Mecham

George Frederick Mecham (1828-17 February 1858) was a British naval officer who participated in the search for Franklin's lost expedition.

Birth

He was born in 1828 at Cove of Cork, Ireland.

Royal Navy service

Mecham joined the Royal Navy in 1841 and was promoted to lieutenant on 8 March 1849. As a lieutenant he served from 1850 to 1852 in Assistance under Erasmus Ommanney and from 1852 to 1854 in Resolute under Henry Kellett, both of whom were searching for the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. He was the first European to discover Prince Patrick and Eglinton Islands in 1853, both of which he charted in the spring of that year. He was promoted to commander on 21 October 1854 and commanded the paddle sloop Salamander on the west coast of Africa from 1855 to 1857, and the paddle sloop Vixen in the Pacific from 1857.

Death

Mecham died of bronchitis on 17 February 1858 at Honolulu, while in command of HMS Vixen.