BARROW, SIR JOHN (1764-1848)

This article appears in Volume V03, Page 441 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BAR-BEC

BARROW, SIR JOHN (1764-1848) , English statesman, was born in the

village

VILLAGE

of Dragley Beck in the parish of

Ulverston

ULVERSTON

in Lancashire, on the 19th of June 1764. He started in life as superintending clerk of an iron foundry at Liverpool and after- ' wards taught mathematics at a school in Greenwich. Through the

interest

INTEREST

of Sir George Staunton, to whose son he taught mathematics, he was attached on the first British embassy to China as comptroller of the household to Lord Macartney. He soon acquired a good knowledge of the Chinese language, on which he subsequently contributed interesting articles to the Quarterly Review; and the account of the embassy published by Sir George Staunton records many of Barrow's valuable contributions to literature and science connected with China.
Although Barrow ceased to be officially connected with Chinese affairs after the return. of the embassy in 1794, he always took much

interest

INTEREST

in them, and on

critical

CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

occasions was frequently consulted by the British government. In 1797 he accompanied Lord Macartney, as private secretary, in his important and delicate mission to settle the government of the newly acquired colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Barrow was entrusted with the task of reconciling.the Boers and Kaffirs and of

reporting

REPORTING

on the country in the interior. On his return from his journey, in the course of which he visited all parts of the colony, he was appointed auditor-general of public accounts. He now decided to settle in South Africa, married Anne Maria Truter, and in 'Soo bought a

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

in Cape Town. But the surrender of the colony at the peace of Amiens (1802) upset this plan. He returned to England in 1804, was appointed by Lord

Melville

second secretary to the admiralty, a post which he held for

forty

FORTY

years. He enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all the eleven

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

lords who successively presided at the admiralty board during that period, and more especially of King William IV. while lord high admiral, who honoured him with tokens of his personal regard. Barrow was a fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1821 received the degree of LL.D. from Edinburgh University. A baronetcy was conferred on him by Sir Robert Peel in 1835. He retired from public life in 1845 and devoted himself to writing a history of the modern Arctic voyages of discovery (1846), of which he was a great promoter, as well as his autobiography, published in 1847. He died suddenly on the 23rd of November 1848.
Besides the numerous articles in the Quarterly Review already mentioned, Barrow. published among other works, Travels in China (1804) ; Travels into the Interior of South Africa (18o6) ; and lives of Lord Macartney (1807), Lord Anson (1839), Lord Howe (1838). He was also the author of several valuable contributions to the seventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
See Memoir of John Barlow, by G. F. Staunton (1852).

End of Article: BARROW, SIR JOHN (1764-1848)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BAR_BEC/BARROW_SIR_JOHN_1764_1848_.html">
BARROW, SIR JOHN (1764-1848)
</a>

(Previous)
BARROW, ISAAC (1630-1677)

(Next)
BARROWE, HENRY (? 1550-1593)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email