Record

Authorised form of name	Barker; Sir; Robert (? 1729 - 1789); army officer in the East India Company and Commander in Chief in Bengal
Dates	? 1729 - 1789
Nationality	British
Place of birth	St Anne's, Soho, London, England
Date of birth	c. 1729
Place of death	Busbridge House
Date of death	14 September 1789
DatesAndPlaces	Burial: Hammersmith, Middlesex, England (28 September 1789)
Occupation	Soldier; Politician
Activity	Education: Career: First went to India (1749); went to India as a captain, with the reappointment of engineer, he accompanied Robert Clive to Calcutta [Kolkata] in command of a contingent of royal and company artillery (1756-7); went on an expedition to Manila, Philippines (1762); returned to India to protect the Nawab wazir of Oudh Shuja-ud-Daula (1766); became Commander-in-Chief, India (1769); became provincial commander-in-chief in Bengal (1769); exceeded his authority by committing the East India Company to guaranteeing a treaty and by confronting a possible Maratha Empire invasion, leading to him resigning (1773); returned to England and became MP for Wallingford (1774); the baronetcy became extinct upon his death. Honours: Kt 1763; Bt 1781
Membership category	Fellow
Date of election	16/03/1775
Proposer	George Lewis Scott; Henry Cavendish; John Ross; William Heberden; Israel Mauduit; John Ellis; Richard Brocklesby; John Walsh; Dan Solander; John Carnac
Relationships	Parents: Robert Barker MD (d. 1745), of Hammersmith, Middlesex, and Hannah Whitehead, born c.1732, in the parish of St Anne's, Soho, London. Spouse: Anne Hallows, only child of Brabazon Hallowes of Galpwell, Bolsover, Derbyshire (1780)
OtherInfo	Became the first distinguished artillery officer of the East India Company's army.
Source	Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Notes: GEC gives year of birth as 1732. References: R W Home, 'The Royal Society and the Empire: the colonial and Commonwealth Fellowship. Part 1. 1731-1847' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 307-332
Code	NA7207

Archives associated with this Fellow

RefNo	Title	Date
L&P/6/92	Letter, 'Of making ice in the East Indies' from Robert Barker to Richard Brocklesby	2 March 1775
EC/1774/32	Barker, Sir Robert: certificate of election to the Royal Society
MA/134/2	Temperature observations at sea, on a voyage from Madras [Chennai], India to Alderney, Channel Islands, by Robert Barker	13 February-16 August 1774
L&P/6/248/3	Plate, unnamed [Perspective of figure A from preceding plate], by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell	1777
MA/134	Meteorological observations, at Allahabad [Prayagraj], India, and elsewhere, by Robert Barker	1767-1774
MA/134/1	Temperature observations at Allahabad [Prayagraj], India, by Robert Barker	January-December 1767
MA/134/3	Temperature observations at the Soldiers' Barracks at Allahabad [Prayagraj], India, , by Robert Barker	8 June 1769
L&P/8/146	Letter, 'Of a stag's head and horns found in turf at Alport, Derbyshire' from Robert Barker to John Jebb	23 January 1785
L&P/6/107	Paper, 'Thermometrical observations at Allahabad [Prayagraj] and of the weather in Bengal; with note from Henry Cavendish' by Robert Barker	1775
L&P/6/248/4	Plate, unnamed [Cross sections of figure A from Plate 1], by Lieutenant colonel Archibald Campbell	1777
L&P/6/248/1	Letter, 'Of the Brahmin observatory at Benares [Jantar Mantar, Varanasi]' from Robert Barker to John Pringle	1777
L&P/6/248	Letter, 'Of the Brahmin observatory at Benares [Jantar Mantar, Varanasi]' from Robert Barker to John Pringle	1777
L&P/6/248/2	Plate, unnamed [View of Jantar Mantar], by Lieutenant colonel Archibald Campbell	1777
MA/134/4	Extract of a letter from Alexander Champion to Robert Barker [?]	n.d.

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