Joseph W (Henry) Kay served as midshipman on the British Naval Expedition, 1828-1831, on board Chanticleer . The expedition visited Isla de los Estados, and the South Shetland Islands to make pendulum and magnetic observations on Deception Island. Deception Island was charted and the expedition made surveys of Isla de los Estados and southern Tierra del Fuego. Maximum and minimum thermometers were left at Port Foster, Deception, Island, which were later collected by the United States Sealing Voyage (from Newport), 1841-1842 (leader William Horton Smyley).
Kay later served as lieutenant on the British Naval Expedition, 1839-1843 (leader James Clark Ross), on board HMS Terror under Francis Crozier. The voyage was organized primarily to conduct a series of magnetic observations in the Southern Hemisphere. A geophysical observatory 'Rossbank' was established at Hobart in 1840 with the co-operation of the Governor, Sir John Franklin (Kay was a nephew of Franklin's first wife).
Kay was left in charge of the observatory with two other officers and remained there until 1853. The position of the South Magnetic Pole was calculated as 75.83°South, 154.13°East. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his work and after leaving the Observatory he continued to pursue a scientific career.
From the guide to the Joseph Kay collection, 1828-1847, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
