Joseph Nias was born on 2 April 1793 in London. He entered the Navy in 1807, serving in the Mediterranean, North Sea and Channel Stations during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1818, he was appointed midshipman in HMS Alexander under William Edward Parry on the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition (leader John Ross), sent in company with HMS Isabella to search for a Northwest Passage by way of Baffin Bay.
Nias returned north with Parry in HMS Hecla on the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1819-1820 (leader William Edward Parry), sent by the Admiralty to seek a passage through Lancaster Sound in the Canadian Arctic. During this expedition, Parry successfully located the elusive entrance to the Northwest Passage in addition to navigating about halfway through the passage. After the expedition wintered at Winter Harbour on the south coast of Melville Island in 1819, Nias accompanied Parry on his journey across Melville Island to the north coast in June 1820.
Promoted lieutenant in 1820, Nias served in HMS Fury on the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1821-1823 (leader William Edward Parry), sent to search for a passage along the west coast of the unexplored Foxe Basin. After two attempts to sail through Fury and Hecla Strait were hindered by the ice, Parry was forced to return to England in 1823.
In 1826, Nias was appointed first lieutenant in HMS Asia, serving at the Battle of Navarino in 1827, for which he was promoted commander later in the same year. Advancing to the rank of captain in 1835, he was given the command of HMS Herald commissioned for the East India Station and was actively employed in the operations leading to the capture of Canton during the first China War. Returning to England in 1843, he spent a further period at sea before receiving shore appointments at Devonport and Plymouth. Promoted rear admiral in 1857, he retired as admiral in 1867, the year in which he was knighted. He died in December 1879 in London.
From the guide to the Sir Joseph Nias collection, 1814-1823, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
