Brigadier-General Sir Robert Barker, 1st Baronet, FRS (1732 – 14 September 1789) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1774 to 1780. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India between 1770 and 1773.

Military career

Barker was the eldest son of Robert Barker M.D., of Hammersmith, and his wife Hannah Whitehead. He went to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1749 and in 1757, during the

, commanded the artillery at the Capture of Chandannagar and at the Battle of Plassey.Sir Robert Barker at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> In 1762 he went on an expedition to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He was knighted on 16 January 1764. Two years later he returned to

to protect the

Nawab wazir of Oudh The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...

Shuja-ud-Daula Shuja-ud-Daula (b. – d. ) was the Subedar and Nawab of Oudh and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 to 26 January 1775. Early life Shuja-ud-Daula was the son of the Mughal Grand Vizier Safdarjung chosen by Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Unlik ...

. In 1769 he became Commander-in-Chief, IndiaThe Bengal almanac, for 1827, compiled by S. Smith and Co., Page XX
/ref> he became likewise provincial commander-in-chief in Bengal to the great disgust of Sir Richard Fletcher. However he exceeded his authority by committing 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 ...

to guaranteeing a treaty and by confronting a possible

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

invasion. He resigned in 1773: Colonel

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

, who succeeded him, had to conduct the first Rohilla war. Barker returned to

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becoming

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Wallingford in 1774. 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 knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1775. In 1781 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, of Bushbridge in the County of Surrey. Barker's ability as an officer won him the friendship and esteem of Clive.

Family

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

Works

Besides the ''Thermometrical Observations'' published by 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 ...

, Barker also contributed ''Observations on a Voyage from Madras to England, 1774'', and ''The Process of Making Ice in the East Indies'' to volume lxv., and an ''Account of an Observatory of the Brahmins at Benares'' to volume lxvii. of the '' Philosophical Transactions''.

References

Attribution *; Endnotes: **There is a very short, incomplete notice of Sir Robert Barker in Major Stubbs's History of the Royal Bengal Artillery, 2 volulemes, 1877 **consult also Malcolm's Life of Clive, Gleig's Life of Warren Hastings, and Mill's History of India **for his services at Manila see Draper's despatch in the Gentlemen's Magazine for 1763, and for Kettle's paintings at his seat the Gentlemen's Magazine for 1786. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Robert 1732 births 1789 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British Commanders-in-Chief of India British MPs 1774–1780 British East India Company Army generals

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Fellows of the Royal Society