John Fullarton (c. 1780 – 1849) was a Scottish traveller and writer on the currency.

Life

Fullarton was the only child of Dr. Gavin Fullarton, who died in 1795, by his wife, the daughter of Alexander Dunlop, professor of Greek in the

university of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He went to India as a medical officer in the service of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, became an assistant surgeon in the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

in 1802, but resigned his appointment in 1813. During this period he became the part owner and editor of a newspaper at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. On leaving the service Fullarton entered the house of Alexander & Co., bankers of Calcutta, as a partner, acquired a fortune in a few years, and returned to England to live. Meantime he had travelled widely over India, and about 1820 made a pioneering tour through the British Empire in the east. In 1823 he purchased

Lord Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

's house, 1 Great Stanhope Street, Mayfair. The reform crisis led him to contribute articles to the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

'' in defence of the Tory party, and he is said to have been one of the founders of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

. During these years he made extensive tours through Great Britain and the continent in a coach fitted up with a library and other luxuries. In 1833 he went again to India, and in the following year was entrusted with a mission to China. On his return to Europe he visited Egypt, where at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

his wife, Miss Finney of Calcutta, died in 1837. In 1838 having lost a considerable part of his fortune by the failure of his bankers, he moved to 12 Hyde Park Street. Fullarton was a fellow of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

, and took great interest in art, literature, and the drama. He died on 24 October 1849.

Works

In 1844, during the progress of the

Bank Charter Act The Bank Charter Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 32), sometimes referred to as the Peel Banking Act of 1844, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed under the government of Robert Peel, which restricted the powers of British banks ...

through parliament, he published in support of the doctrines of

Thomas Tooke Thomas Tooke (; 28 February 177426 February 1858) was an English economist known for writing on money and economic statistics. After Tooke's death the Statistical Society endowed the Tooke Chair of economics at King's College London, and a Tooke ...

a book 'On the Regulation of Currencies, being an examination of the principles on which it is proposed to restrict the future issues on credit of the Bank of England.'

References

External links

* __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Fullarton, John 1780 births 1849 deaths 19th-century Scottish writers British East India Company people Scottish bankers 19th-century British businesspeople