Wilfred Powell (1853-1942) was born on 14 May 1853. He travelled extensively in the Pacific, and explored New Britain from 1877 to 1880. He became Consul for the Navigators Islands (Samoa) on 1 May 1885, and also Deputy Commissioner for the Western Pacific. On 1 April 1888 he was appointed Consul at Stettin, and during April-June 1889 he attended a conference on Samoa at Berlin. He was transferred to Philadelphia on 11 November 1898, becoming Consul for Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (an area altered in 1907 to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware). He was promoted to Consul-General in 1913, and retired on 1 January 1916. Powell became a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute in 1880. He died on 4 February 1942.