1831 - entered the Royal Navy. 1838 - passed his examination. 1845 - promoted to Lieutenant. 1848 - appointed to the HMS Enterprise for a voyage to the Arctic. 1851 - established his reputation as an Arctic traveller by, among other things, an unprecedented sledge journey of 760 miles in eighty days. Subsequently received his promotion to commander. 1854 - received his promotion to Captain. 1859 - published an account of this service in 'The voyage of the Fox in the Arctic seas': a narrative of the fate of Sir John Franklin and his companions. 1860 - knighted. 1865 - was for three years Commodore-in-Charge at Jamaica. 1868 - stood for Drogheda at the general election but withdrew in consequence of dangerous rioting. 1871 - reached flag rank. 1877 - served as Admiral-Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard and promoted to Vice-Admiral. 1879 - appointed Commander-in-Chief on the North America and West Indies station. 1884 - elected an elder brother of Trinity House. 1891 - created a KCB.