Archibald Blair (1752–1815) was a naval surveyor and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Bombay Marine The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

. He joined the Bombay Marine, received his first commission in 1771 and in 1792 was promoted captain. In 1772, as a midshipman, he went on his first survey mission along the coasts of India, Iran and Arabia. In 1780 he was lieutenant on a ship captured by a French man-of-war off the Cape of Good Hope. He was kept prisoner by the French until 1784 when they handed him over to the Dutch who returned him to the Bombay Marine that same year. He was given the then considerable sum of £200 on account of his long captivity and suffering. Between 1786 and 1788 he took part in a number of survey missions, to the Chagos archipelago, to Diamond Harbour south of Calcutta and to adjacent parts of the Hooghly river. His first surveying voyage to the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

took place between December 1788 and April 1789, as a result of which the Governor-general decided to colonise the islands in order to provide a safe harbour in the war against pirates. Blair had surveyed the islands in ''Viper'' and ''Elizabeth'', discovering the fine natural harbour on

South Andaman Island South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman an ...

which he initially named Port Cornwallis (later renamed

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

), and establishing a fort on Chatham Island in the bay. He later returned to successfully establish a permanent colony, partly composed of convicts. In 1792 he was ordered to relocate the settlement to

North Andaman Island North Andaman Island is the northern island of Great Andaman of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. the island is lying n ...

and hand over command to Major Kyd. His name also appears on maps as Blair's (or Blair) Harbour from some surveying in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

: his own chart of the Malay Peninsula, published in 1805, shows the site just as "A Good Harbour", although an earlier larger scale "Plan of Blair's Harbour" had been published in 1793. Blair returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1795. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in May, 1799, his candidacy citation describing him as " ''Archibald Blair Esqr of Bayford, Herts, Captain on the Maritime Establishment of the East India Company at Bombay a Gentleman distinguished in his profession and for astronomical observations and having been employed by The East India Company in forming an Establishment at the Andamans '' ". He is recorded to have read an account of the Andaman Islands to the Society in London in 1799. Retiring in 1800, he settled at

Bayford, Hertfordshire Bayford is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 435, increasing to 466 at the 2011 Census. The village is about three miles south of Hertfo ...

. In 1814 he was given the role of Director of works for the Porthleven Harbour Company, Cornwall. It was here he directed the works which would build the harbour wall and create a safe harbour in

Porthleven Porthleven () is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston, Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. Th ...

. From the 19th Aug 1813 he leased a property in a local village Treleven,

Sithney Sithney ( kw, Merthersydhni) is a village and civil parish in West Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sithney is north of Porthleven. The population including Boscadjack and Crowntown at the 2011 census was 841. It is named after Saint Sithne ...

for a total of £262.10 shillings. The works on the harbour he would oversee would total a cost of £24,420.12.4. He was to die while undertaking this work in Cornwall and was buried at Sithney Church. He died on 25 March 1815 aged 63. In 1803 he received a government commission in England on all cotton belonging to the Company and exported from Bombay as the reward for inventing a machine which made "a considerable improvement in the packing of cotton."

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

's capital

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Archibald 1815 deaths English sailors Fellows of the Royal Society Year of birth unknown 1752 births