Thomas Westbrook Waldron was a captain's clerk on the

Wilkes Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

, and the first United States

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

to Hong Kong."Ceremony Recalls Fallen Diplomats"
''State Magazine'' (Oct 2009), p.8. Accessed 5 September 2010 His service to the United States consular service was honoured by Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

during a ceremony in 2009."American Foreign Service Association's Memorial Plaque Ceremony"
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, C Street Lobby, Washington, DC, May 1, 2009

Family

Waldron was born May 1, 1814, the youngest of eight children of Daniel Waldron and Olive Huske Sheafe Waldron of

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

. He was named after his grandfather, Thomas Westbrook Waldron.C.H. Cutts Howard, ''Genealogy of the Cutts Family of America'', (1892), entry 1390, p.123 at https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofcutts00howa#page/122/mode/2up/search/hong+kong accessed 22 August 2010 An older cousin of the same name had moved away prior to his birth.

Wilkes Expedition

With his oldest brother Richard Russell Waldron he joined the Wilkes Expedition which explored a portion of the coast of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, some of the Pacific islands, and the coast of what is now

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. Waldron Glacier in the Antarctic is named after him.

Waldron Island Waldron, also known as Waldron Island, is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Its population was 104 at the 2000 census. Waldron is in the San Juan Islands. It is designated as a Limited Development District ...

is named after him or his brother.

U.S. Consul to Hong Kong and Macau

For reasons that are not presently very clear, in December 1843 he was nominated by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

to the office of United States consul to Hong Kong. He travelled to neighbouring

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

on official business, where he died September 18, 1844 after contracting

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

. He is buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau.

2009 Ceremony

On May 1, 2009, as part of a ceremony honouring several diplomats who were deceased during their duty, he was honoured by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. A second ceremony occurred the same month at his burial site at Old Protestant Cemetery,

Landmarks

Waldron Glacier, is named after him.

in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

off of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

is named either after he or his brother Richard. Waldron Island 'was probably intended for Thomas W. Waldron, Captain's Clerk of the brig Porpoise of the expedition. However, it is possible that two men were honoured in the one name as R. R. Waldron was Purser of the Vincennes, another vessel of the expedition.' (Meany, E. S. (1923). ''Origin of Washington Geographic Names'', University of Washington Press, Seattle. as cited in Patrick J. M. Waldron, "Waldron Family History", June 30, 2009, pp.5, 8 at: http://www.binary.co.nz/WALDRON3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Thomas Westbrook American oceanographers History of science and technology in the United States Pacific Ocean History of the United States Navy Military expeditions of the United States 1838 in the United States 1839 in Antarctica Circumnavigators of the globe Battles involving the United States Artifacts in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution Exploration of North America History of Hong Kong 1814 births 1844 deaths People of the United States Exploring Expedition