Person

Denison, William Thomas (1804 - 1871)

KCB

Born
3 May 1804
London, Middlesex, England
Died
19 January 1871
East Sheen, Surrey, England
Occupation
Governor, Royal engineer, Science patron and Civil engineer

Summary

Sir William Denison was Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania 1847-1854; Governor of New South Wales 1855-1861; Governor-General 'in and over the Colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia' 1855-1861; an engineer and an important patron of science.

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Details

Chronology

1819 - 1823
Education - Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
1826
Career event - Commissioned as Second-Lieutenant, Royal Engineer, Royal Corp of Engineers
1827 - 1832
Career position - Engineer, Royal Corp of Engineers, construction of Rideau Canal, Ottawa, Canada. Under Lieut-Col John By
1830 - 1831
Career event - Experiments to determine the strength of North American timbers
1833 - 1835
Career position - Instructor in Surveying, Chatham, Royal Corp of Engineers
1837
Award - Telford Medal, Institution of Civil Engineers, London - for communications on determining the strength of North American timbers.
1837 - 1845
Career position - Officer in charge of engineering work, Woolwich Dockyard, under Captain Brandreth RE, Director of Works Admiralty
1837 - 1846
Career position - Established and edited "Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers"
14 March 1837
Career event - Associate, Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1838
Career position - Councillor, Institution of Civil Engineers, London.
1845 - 1846
Career position - Officer in charge of engineering work, Portsmouth Dockyard, under Director of Works Admiralty
1846 - 1854
Career position - Lieutenant Governor, Tasmania
1847 - 1854
Career position - President, Royal Society of Tasmania
1855 - 1860
Career position - President, Australian Philosophical Society
1855 - 1861
Career position - Governor, New South Wales
1855 - 1861
Career position - Governor-general, Australian colonies
1856
Award - Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB)
1861 - 1863
Career position - Governor, Madras
1863 - 1864
Career position - Governor-general, Indian colonies
1864 - 1866
Career position - Governor, Madras
1866
Award - James Watt Medal, Institution of Civil Engineers, for communications on the construction of the Suez Canal.
1868
Career position - Councillor, Institution of Civil Engineers, London.
1868 - 1871
Career position - Chairman, Royal Commission on prevention of pollution of rivers

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • Edward Pearson Ramsay - Records, 1860 - 1912, ML MSS 563; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • William Thomas Denison - Records, 1856 - 1867, FM 3/795; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

University of Tasmania Library

  • William Thomas Denison - Records, 1846 - 1864; University of Tasmania Library. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • Collins, David, Chemistry in 19th Australia - Select Bibliography, An exhibition of the Encyclopedia circa 2005 with assistance from Ailie Smith and Gavan McCarthy., eScholarship Research Centre (original publisher), Melbourne, 2009, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/ciab/ciab_ALL.html. Details

Book Sections

Edited Books

  • Bailey, M. R.; Chrimes, M. M.; Cox, R. C.; Cross-Rudkin, P. S. M.; Hurst, B. L.; McWilliam, R. C.; Rennison, R. W.; Ruddock, E. C.; Sutherland, R. J. M.; Swailes, T. ed., Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 2: 1830-1890 (London, United Kingdom: Thomas Telford Publishing, 2008), 907 pp. 'Denison, Lieutenant-general Sir William Thomas, KCB', pp.231-234. Details

Journal Articles

  • Denison, Sir William Thomas, 'Account of the Analysis, by Dr. Motherwell, of certain Woods of Tasmania, with a view to determine the amount of Potash contained', Papers and Proceedings and Report of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land, 1 (1851), 87-93. Details
  • Denison, Sir William Thomas, 'On the manufacture of potash from Tasmanian woods', Report of the Royal Society, Van Diemen's Land for the year 1850, 1 (1851), 93-98. Details
  • Iredale, T.; and Whitley, G.P., 'Sir William Dennison as a Conchologist', Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales (1964), 27-30. Details

Resources

See also

McCarthy, G.J.

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 5 April 2022

EOAS ID: biogs/P000360b.htm

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