John Walsh (scientist)
Encyclopedia
John Walsh was a British
scientist and Secretary to the Governor of Bengal
.
John was son of Joseph Walsh, Secretary to the Governor of Fort St. George and cousin to Nevil Maskelyne
, the Astronomer Royal
, and his sister Margaret, the wife of Lord Clive
.
He entered the English East India Company at a young age and eventually became Clive's private secretary. During the 1757 Plassey campaign against the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, John Walsh was awarded £56,000 in prize money. Upon his return to England in 1759, his fortune was estimated at £147,000, and he quickly sought to purchase the necessary trappings of aristocratic power in eighteenth century Britain: land and political influence. He purchased the large estate of Warfield Park, near Bracknell
in Berkshire
, and became MP for Worcester
form 1761 to 1780. He continued to serve Robert Clive, or 'Clive of India' as he became known, and attempted to form a parliamentary interest in his favour.
In later life, John Walsh's interests were scientific. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1770 and awarded their Copley Medal
in 1773 for a paper on the electrical properties of torpedo fish.
Upon his death in 1795, Sir John Walsh, as he was then known, left his fortune to his niece, Margaret Walsh, and her husband, John Benn
, on the condition that they change their surname to Benn-Walsh. With his own fortune of £80,000 made in India while Assistant to the Resident of Benares, his brother-in-law Francis Fowke in the 1770s, John Benn-Walsh had become a very wealthy man and went on to inherit extensive estates in Warfield, Buckinghamshire, in Radnorshire, and in Ormathwaite, Cumberland and be created Baron Ormathwaite.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
scientist and Secretary to the Governor of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
.
John was son of Joseph Walsh, Secretary to the Governor of Fort St. George and cousin to Nevil Maskelyne
Nevil Maskelyne
The Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...
, the Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
, and his sister Margaret, the wife of Lord Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
.
He entered the English East India Company at a young age and eventually became Clive's private secretary. During the 1757 Plassey campaign against the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, John Walsh was awarded £56,000 in prize money. Upon his return to England in 1759, his fortune was estimated at £147,000, and he quickly sought to purchase the necessary trappings of aristocratic power in eighteenth century Britain: land and political influence. He purchased the large estate of Warfield Park, near Bracknell
Bracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, and became MP for Worcester
Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)
Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885 it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; from 1295 to 1885 it elected two MPs....
form 1761 to 1780. He continued to serve Robert Clive, or 'Clive of India' as he became known, and attempted to form a parliamentary interest in his favour.
In later life, John Walsh's interests were scientific. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1770 and awarded their Copley Medal
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
in 1773 for a paper on the electrical properties of torpedo fish.
Upon his death in 1795, Sir John Walsh, as he was then known, left his fortune to his niece, Margaret Walsh, and her husband, John Benn
Sir John Walsh, 1st Baronet
Sir John Benn Walsh, 1st Baronet was an English landowner and MP.He was born in Cumberland as John Benn, the only son of William Benn of Moor Row, Whitehaven, Cumberland and his wife Mary, daughter of Timothy Nicholson. In 1787 he married Margaret, daughter of Joseph Fowke of Kent...
, on the condition that they change their surname to Benn-Walsh. With his own fortune of £80,000 made in India while Assistant to the Resident of Benares, his brother-in-law Francis Fowke in the 1770s, John Benn-Walsh had become a very wealthy man and went on to inherit extensive estates in Warfield, Buckinghamshire, in Radnorshire, and in Ormathwaite, Cumberland and be created Baron Ormathwaite.