British Naval Officer, Explorer. He first joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1805, when he was just 12 years old. During his career Stokes served on several ships, making important contributions to knowledge of southern South America. On an early (1819) two year voyage as Lieutenant on board the HMS Owen Glendower, Pringle traveled around Cape Horn to the Pacific Coast of South America, fighting the slave trade. Robert FitzRoy, who was to take command of The Beagle (famous for Charles Darwin's voyage) after Stokes died, also served on this trip. Stokes was promoted to Commander in 1824. One year later, he commissioned The Beagle and commanded the ship on its first voyage of exploration in the South Atlantic. It was said of Stokes when he was appointed to command the Beagle "though he was not practised in professional science, he ... was moreover an indomitable seaman." In May 1826 The Beagle left Plymouth along with the larger ship the HMS Adventure under the overall command of Captain Phillip Parker King on a voyage of exploration of the southern coast of South America. The two ships were to chart the coasts of southern Patagonia, with particular attention to the complex of channels and islands around Tierra del Fuego. Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy was the meteorologist on The Beagle. This voyage lasted one year, accomplishing its major goals. Stokes also explored the Santa Cruz River on this trip. In December that year the two ships sailed south again, this time joined by a schooner named Adelaide, and in January 1828 made their base at Port Famine (Puerto del Hambre). From there, Stokes was directed to "proceed to survey the western coasts, between the Strait of Magalhaens and latitude 47° south, or as much of those dangerous and exposed shores as he could examine". They were to return to Port Famine by the end of July. Conditions were extremely difficult. The narrow rocky channels were uncharted. There were racing tides, storms and blizzards, and overcast skies or fog that made astronomical observations impossible. Describing a difficult time in January 1828, a member of the expedition said: "Neither was Capt. Stokes of a disposition to lay quietly under Cape Providence waiting for fair weather; he was none of your "fair weather Jacks;" but with a resolution and energy hardly to be surpassed, he boldly and fearlessly braved the difficulties which thickened around him; trusting to himself, and having confidence in the skill and seamanship of Lieut. Scholl and the other officers, he vainly endeavored to reach the western entrance, and was constantly driven back, exposed as we were to the heavy swell of the great Pacific, which rolled in upon us with unabated violence ... on the morning of the 31st January the wind howling around us, and the atmosphere dense and cheerless, we put to sea. During the day we tacked nearly thirty times, and when within ten miles of Westminster Island, the wind blew with redoubled violence. The evening began to close in: still we dashed on and still were driven back; the sea broke over the vessel many times, and she laboured very much, and oftentimes war buried in the deep trough of the sea..." After two stressful and dangerous years in command of the Beagle, depressed by the harsh winter conditions of the Strait of Magellan, Pringle Stokes committed suicide. Two months prior, he wrote in his journal:"Nothing could be more dreary than the scene around us. The lofty, bleak, and barren heights that surround the inhospitable shores of this inlet, were covered, even low down their sides, with dense clouds, upon which the fierce squalls that assailed us beat, without causing any change... Around us, and some of them distant no more than two-thirds of a cable's length, were rocky inlets, lashed by a tremendous surf; and, as if to complete the dreariness and utter desolation of the scene, even the birds seemed to shun its neighborhood. The weather was that in which... "the soul of man dies in him." When the ship returned to Port Famine on 27 July 1828, Stokes had not left his cabin for a month. On 1 August 1828 Stokes shot himself. Stokes remained conscious and coherent, however gangrene set in, and Stokes finally died on 12 August 1828. Lieut. William Skyring, the assistant surveyor, commanded The Beagle on its return voyage. When it arrived in Montevideo Robert FitzRoy was given command. FitzRoy would command The Beagle on its famous second voyage when Charles Darwin made observations that led him to propose his theory of natural selection. Haunted by his role in this discovery, Fitzroy also committed suicide later in life. Pringle Stokes was buried at the "English Cemetery", two miles from Port Famine.