Sir Robert Barker, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Barker, Bt
Born 1732
Died 14 September 1789
Allegiance  Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch British Army
Rank Brigadier-General
Commands held Indian Army
Battles/wars Seven Years' War

Brigadier-General Sir Robert Barker, 1st Baronet, FRS (1732 – 14 September 1789) was a British soldier. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India between 1770 and 1773.

Military career

Barker went to India in 1749 and in 1757, during the Seven Years' War, commanded the artillery at the Capture of Chandannagar and at the Battle of Plassey.[1] In 1762 he went on an expedition to Manila in the Philippines.[1] He was knighted on 16 January 1764.[1]

Two years later he returned to India to protect the Nawab wazir of Oudh Shuja-ud-Daula.[1] In 1769 he became Commander-in-Chief, India[2] but exceeded his authority by committing the East India Company to guaranteeing a treaty and by confronting a possible Maratha Empire invasion.[1]

He resigned in 1773 and returned to England becoming Member of Parliament for Wallingford in 1774.[1] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1775.[3] In 1781 he was created a baronet, of Bushbridge in the County of Surrey.[4]

Family

In 1780 he married Anne Hallows: they had no children. They lived at Bushbridge near Godalming in Surrey.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sir Robert Barker at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ↑ The Bengal almanac, for 1827, compiled by S. Smith and Co., Page XX
  3. ↑ "Royal Society Fellows Details". The Royal Society. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 12172. p. 5. 20 March 1781.
Military offices
Preceded by
Richard Smith		 Commander-in-Chief, India
1770–1773 		Succeeded by
Charles Chapman
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Sir John Aubrey, Bt
John Cator		 Member of Parliament for Wallingford
1774–1780
With: John Cator		 Succeeded by
Sir John Aubrey, Bt
Chaloner Arcedeckne
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation Baronet
(of Bushbridge)
1781–1789 		Extinct
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