Joseph Cotton FRS (7 March 1745 – 26 January 1825), was an English mariner and merchant, a director of the East India Company and deputy-master of

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

. Cotton was born at St Albans, Hertfordshire,

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 ...

, the third son of Dr. Nathaniel Cotton. He entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in 1760 and passed the examination for lieutenant, but left the navy and joined 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 South ...

. He made a fortune from two voyages as captain of the ''Royal Charlotte'', an East Indiaman. He then retired and lived the rest of his life in

Leyton, Essex Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford, London, Stratford to the south, with Clapton, London, Clapton, Hackney Wick ...

, living at Leyton House from 1789 to 1803, and in Walnut Tree House (today Essex Hall) beginning in 1813. In 1788, he was elected an "elder brother" of

, and in 1803 became deputy-master, holding the latter post for about twenty years. He published a memoir about the origin of Trinity House in 1818. He was a director of the

from 1795 to 1823; he was also a director of the East India Docks Company (chairman in 1803), and a governor of the London Assurance Corporation, and the English Copper Company. He attempted to introduce

ramie Ramie (pronounced: , ; from Malay ) is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to tall;

, a fibre plant, for use in manufacturing, and was awarded a silver medal for this in 1814 by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufactures; however, the fibre found little commercial usage. He became a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1810. He died in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

in 1825 and was buried at the local

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Family

He married Sarah Harrison in 1779, and they had 10 children, including William Cotton (a governor of the Bank of England) and John Cotton, who became Chairman of the

. He was also grandfather of Henry Cotton (appeals court judge), William Charles Cotton (apiarist) and William Cotton Oswell (explorer) and the great-grandfather of

Henry John Stedman Cotton Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, (13 September 1845 – 22 October 1915) had a long career in the Indian Civil Service, during which he was sympathetic to Indian nationalism. After returning to England, he served as a Liberal Party Member of P ...

(civil servant in India and

Governor of Assam This is a list of governors of Assam, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. The Governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the President ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Joseph 1746 births 1825 deaths People from St Albans People from Leyton 18th-century English people 19th-century English people Fellows of the Royal Society Directors of the British East India Company Nathaniel Cotton family Members of Trinity House