| 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 |
| Dates and places | 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 |
| Royal Society activity | 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. |
| Sources | 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 |
| Royal Society code | NA5665 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| Reference number | 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 |