Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, of Trebinshun House

Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet (25 May 1767 – 14 September 1849) was a British naval officer and governor of Newfoundland.

Hamilton was born in Britain in 1767. He began his naval career at the age of nine on his father's ship, the Hector. He attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth from 1777 to 1779. He commanded a number of vessels in the Royal Navy and was also a member of the British parliament several times between 1790 and 1812 while still serving in the Royal Navy. He became baronet of Trebinshun on his father's death in 1784. From 1814 to 1817, he was Lieutenant Governor of Heligoland.

He served as resident governor for the colony of Newfoundland from 1818 to 1823. During this period, he oversaw the reconstruction of St. John's following fires in 1818 and 1819. Although he was charged with promoting agriculture, he was soon discouraged by the poor soils of the island. The economy of the island was depressed due to decreased demand for Newfoundland cod and Hamilton encouraged diversification of the fisheries to include whales, seals and salmon.

His wife, Lady Hamilton, painted a well-known portrait of Demasduwit, also called Mary March, a Beothuk woman captured in 1818.

Hamilton was made an admiral on 22 July 1830, and died at the family home at Iping, West Sussex in 1849.

See also

External links

Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, of Trebinshun House at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
John Hamilton
Samuel Smith
Member of Parliament for St Germans
1789–1790
Served alongside: Samuel Smith
Succeeded by
Marquess of Lorne
Edward James Eliot
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Dungannon
1801–1802
Succeeded by
George Knox
Preceded by
George Knox
Member of Parliament for Dungannon
1803–1806
Succeeded by
George Knox
Preceded by
Augustus Cavendish-Bradshaw
Lord Cochrane
Member of Parliament for Honiton
1807–1812
Served alongside: Augustus Cavendish-Bradshaw
Succeeded by
Richard William Howard Vyse
George Abercrombie Robinson
Political offices
Preceded by
Corbet James d'Auvergne
Governor of Heligoland
1814–1817
Succeeded by
Henry King
Preceded by
Francis Pickmore
Commodore Governor of Newfoundland
1818–1823
Succeeded by
Sir Thomas John Cochrane
Baronetage of Great Britain
Preceded by
John Hamilton
Baronet
(of Trebishun)
1784–1849
Succeeded by
Charles Hamilton