Authorised form of name | Richardson; Sir; John (1787 - 1865); surgeon; naturalist; Arctic explorer |
Dates | 1787 - 1865 |
Nationality | British |
Place of birth | 1 Nith Place, Dumfries, Scotland |
Date of birth | 05 November 1787 |
Place of death | Lancrigg, Grasmere, Westmorland, England, United Kingdom |
Date of death | 05 June 1865 |
DatesAndPlaces | Burial: Grasmere churchyard, Westmorland, England, United Kingdom |
Occupation | Surgeon |
Research field | Botany |
Geology |
Natural history |
Ichthyology |
Activity | Education: Edinburgh University MD Career: Apprenticed to his uncle James Mundell, retired naval surgeon in practice at the infirmary in Dumfries, on whose death he transferred to Dr Samuel Shortridge (1800); paused his studiesto serve as temporary house surgeon, Dumfries and Galloway Infirmary (1804); assistant surgeon aboard the frigate Nymphe (1807); advanced to senior surgeon following service on Hiberia, Hercules, Blossom, and Cruiser; surgeon to the lst battalion, Royal Marines, taking part in raids on St Mary's and Cumberland Island, Georgia (1814); resumed study in Edinburgh and became doctor of medicine (1816): started a private practice in Leith, Edinburgh (1818): joined the Coppermine Expedition (1819-1822); surgeon to the marine division at Chatham but allowed to deputize his duties to accompany Franklin on a second expedition (1824): retured to Canada and went overland by fur trade routes to the mouth of the Mackenzie River (1825): returned to England (1827); appointed chief medical officer of Melville Naval Hospital, Chatham (1828); senior physician at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, Gosport (1838); inspector of hospitals (1840): traveled with John Rae on an unsuccessful search for Franklin (1848-1849); retired to the Lake District and occupied himself exploring the Westmorland hills and touring Europe (1855); died at home in bed. Honours: Kt 1846; CB 1850 |
Membership category | Fellow |
Date of election | 24/02/1825 |
Age at election | 38 |
Proposer | Charles Willam Paslev |
William Scoresby Junior |
Frans Beaufort |
John Barrow |
Gilbert Blane |
John Deas Thomson |
Charles Stokes |
Edward Forster |
Everard Home |
Alexander McLeay |
Dan Moore |
William Henry Fitton |
Robert Brown |
John Franklin |
Charles Babbage |
William Hyde Wollaston |
RSActivity | Medals and prizes: Royal Medal 1856 |
Relationships | Parents: Gabriel Richardson, brewer, provost at one time, and chief magistrate of Dumfries for many years, and Anne, daughter of Peter Mundell of Dumfries. Spouse: 1) (m. 1 June 1818) Mary Stiven (1795-1831), daughter of Alexander Stiven, brewer of Leith; 2) (m. 8 February 1833) Mary Booth (1807-1845), niece of Franklin and daughter of John Booth of Stickney, near Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire: 3) (m.4 August 1847) Mary Fletcher(1802-18S0), daughter of Archibald Fletcher and Eliza Fletcher. Children: 7 from his second marriage. |
Source | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Obituaries: Proc Roy Soc 1866-1867 vol 15 pp xxxvii-xliii |
Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/73862190 |
Code | NA5665 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNo | Title | Date |
MM/4/40 | Letter from John Richardson, Lincolnshire, to General Edward Sabine, | 15 March 1857 |
IM/003811 | Richardson, Sir John | nd |
MM/25/2 | Letter from Sir James Clark Ross, Athenaeum, to [Sir John] Richardson | c.1847 |
EC/1824/22 | Richardson, Sir John: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
MC/4/298 | Letter from Jane Franklin, 21 Bedford Place, to the Earl of Rosse, [President of the Royal Society] | 15 November 1849 |
MC/4/304 | Letter from [John] Parker, [First Secretary to the] Admiralty, to the Earl of Rosse, President of the Royal Society | 28 November 1849 |
MC/4 | Volume 4 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1844-1850 |
MS/119/1/129 | Letter from John Richardson, Haslar Hospital, Gosport to [Humphrey Lloyd] | 4 February 1850 |
HS/14/485 | Letter, from Sir John Richardson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Haslar Hospital | 17 November 1840 |
HS/14/486 | Letter, from Sir John Richardson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Haslar Hospital | 28 December 1847 |