He was perhaps a son of William Kent, surgeon, of Nantwich, who died in February, 1831. He was educated at St George's Hospital, where he entered as a twelve months surgical pupil to Sir Everard Home on October 5th, 1826. He was a Surgeon in the Royal Navy, reached his Seniority on July 20th, 1838, and was still on the Active List in 1849. He practised at Nantwich, Cheshire, and died in August, 1862. See below for an expanded version of the published obituary: He was perhaps a son of William Kent, surgeon, of Nantwich, who died in February, 1831. He was educated at St George's Hospital, where he entered as a twelve months surgical pupil to Sir Everard Home on October 5th, 1826. He was a Surgeon in the Royal Navy, reached his Seniority on July 20th, 1838, and was still on the Active List in 1849. He practised at Nantwich, Cheshire, and died in August, 1862. William Kent was a naval surgeon who served as the assistant surgeon on board the *Beagle* from 1833 to 1836, during Darwin’s epic voyage. He was born in Nantwich, Cheshire in around 1805, the son of George and Mary Kent. He gained his MRCS in January 1828 and joined the Royal Navy as a naval surgeon in April of the same year. He served on the *Samarang*, *Pylades* and *Spartiate* ships, and then on 18 September 1833 joined the *Beagle* from Montevideo as the assistant surgeon, serving under Benjamin Bynoe, the acting surgeon. By this time, the *Beagle* had already been at sea for almost two years. While a member of *Beagle* crew, Kent, along with several others, including Robert FitzRoy and Bynoe, helped Darwin gather natural and geological specimens. In early 1834, Kent collected rocks in the Falkland Islands, which Darwin noted in his ship’s journal and later acknowledged in his 1846 paper ‘On the geology of Falkland Islands’ (*Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London* 2: 267-279): ‘[m]y examination was confined to the eastern island; but I have received through the kindness of Captain Sulivan and Mr Kent, numerous specimens from the western island, together with copious notes, sufficient to show the almost perfect uniformity of the whole group.’ Some of the specimens Kent collected are now held in the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge. Kent stayed with the Beagle until she returned to England, arriving at Falmouth, Cornwall on 2 October 1836. He was discharged from his duties on 17 November 1836. He later served on the *Charlotte* and *Clio*, again as an assistant surgeon. In March 1839, he was promoted to surgeon and appointed to the *Serpent*. His last posting was a four-year term as surgeon on the *Aigle* from 1841 to 1845. He then retired on half pay. He was elected as a FRCS on 26 August 1844. In 1841 in Nantwich he married Charlotte Deane, who was born in Barbados. They settled in Nantwich and had five children – Charlotte Deane, Emmeline Maria, William George Henry, Richard Elwood and Edward Salmon. William Kent died on 9 August 1862. Sarah Gillam