John Drinkwater Bethune
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| John Drinkwater Bethune | |
| Born | June 9, 1762 England |
|---|---|
| Died | January 16, 1844 England |
| Occupation | Army officer and military historian |
| Spouse | Eleanor Congalton, 22nd of Balfour |
Colonel John Drinkwater Bethune (1762- 1844) was an English army officer and military historian, he was well-known for his journal kept during the Great Siege of Gibraltar.[1][2] He was born at Warrington in 1762. The son of an ex-navy surgeon, he joined the Royal Manchester volunteers at the age of fifteen and was almost immediately posted to Gibraltar.[3] In 1787 Drinkwater travelled to Gibraltar a second time with the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of foot.[3] He was publicly thanked by General Eliott for his book and was given sufficient funds to establish the Gibraltar Garrison Library. He subsequently accompanied his regiment to Toulon (where he acted as military secretary during the city's English occupation) and then to Corsica (where he served as deputy-judge-advocate to the English forces stationed there).[3]
His son, John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune was a pioneer in promoting women's education in 19th-century India and in 1849 founded an institution for women's education in Calcutta
Contents |
[edit] A History of the Siege of Gibraltar
He first published his work in 1785, and a new edition of A History of the Siege of Gibraltar was published in 1905. The history of the four eventful years' siege is fully detailed also in the Memoir, attached to Green's Siege of Gibraltar (1784), of its defender George Augustus Elliot, afterwards Lord Heathfield.
As a soldier, Drinkwater was more interested in the military than in the civil aspects, yet his account does give some glimpses of the sufferings of the civilians.
The account was completed in 1783 and had with extreme rapidity established its reputation as a military classic.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors. Author and Book Info.com Beta Test Version. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
- ^ National Library of Scotland, Manuscript Collections. The National Archives. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
- ^ a b c John Drinkwater. Mark Sanchez. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Rudolph Erich Raspe. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- Works by or about John Drinkwater Bethune in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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