John Coleridge Patteson was born in London, 1 April 1827, the eldest son of John Patteson and Frances Duke Coleridge. He was educated at Eton, 1838-45, and Balliol College, Oxford,1845-8. He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, 1852-71. He was ordained deacon, 1853, and priest, 1854. He worked as a curate at Alfington, Devon, 1853-4, and as chaplain to Bishop Selwyn in New Zealand and the Melanesian Islands, 1855-61. He was bishop of Melanesia, 1861-71 and was martyred on the island of Nukapu, 20th September 1871.