James Burney (13 June 1750 – 17 November 1821) was an English rear-admiral, who accompanied Captain Cook on his last two voyages. He later wrote two books on naval voyages and a third on the game of

whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump' ...

Family

Burney was born in London, although he moved to Lynn Regis (now

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...

) as a small child. He was the son of the composer and music scholar

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist ...

and his wife Esther Sleepe (c. 1725–1762). He was the sister of correspondent Susanna, brother of

and of the

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

and diarist Fanny Burney, and half-brother of the novelist

Sarah Burney Sarah Harriet Burney (29 August 1772 – 8 February 1844) was an English novelist, the daughter of musicologist and composer Charles Burney, and half-sister of the novelist and diarist Frances Burney (Madame d'Arblay). She had some intermittent ...

, who kept house for him from 1798 to 1803.

Voyages

Burney's father obtained him a berth as a midshipman on Cook's ''Resolution'', which sailed for the South Seas in June 1772. Back in England in 1774, he acted as interpreter for Omai, the first Tahitian to visit Britain. He and his future brother-in-law witnessed Cook's killing in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in 1779. He was belatedly promoted, but in June 1782 commissioned captain of the 50-gun ''Bristol'' on a 12-ship convoy to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. He saw action as part of Sir Edward Hughes' squadron in the final engagement with the French fleet off

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudd ...

on 20 June 1783.

Retired

At the end of 1784 Burney fell seriously ill and departed for England. This was the end of his active naval career. Repeated petitions for a new command were rebuffed, in part because of his openly republican political views. However, he became a prolific naval author, who enjoyed the friendship of

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

, Henry Crabb Robinson and other literary figures. Burney married Sarah Payne (1759–1832) on 6 September 1785, by whom he had three children: Catherine (1786–1793), Martin Charles (1788–1852), later a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, and Sarah (1796 – post-1868). However, he was separated from his wife and living with his half-sister from 1798 to 1803. He was elected a member 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 1809. In July 1821, aged 71, Burney was promoted to rear-admiral on the retired list after a personal intervention by the Duke of Clarence (later William IV), Admiral of the Fleet. He died on 17 November 1821 and was buried at St. Margaret's, Westminster. A great whist player, he left a pamphlet on the subject. When he died, Lamb wrote to

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

: "There's Captain Burney gone! – What fun has whist now?"

Bibliography

*''Chronological History of the Voyages and Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean'' (London, 1803–1817), including ''History of the Buccaneers of America'' (1816) (5 volumes
v1v2v3v4v5
*
''Chronological History of North-Eastern Voyages of Discovery and of the Early Eastern Navigations of the Russians''
(London: Payne & Foss, 1819)
''An Essay by Way of Lecture on the Game of Whist''
(London: privately printed, 1821)Bibliographical information from British Library Integrated Catalogue
Retrieved 28 August 2011
/ref> *

Sources

External links

Burney Centre at McGill University
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burney, Jamie English essayists 19th-century English historians Royal Navy rear admirals 1750 births 1821 deaths People from King's Lynn James Fellows of the Royal Society English male non-fiction writers British male essayists James Cook