Sir Thomas Bernard, 3rd Baronet (27 April 17501 July 1818) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

social reformer whose father, as governor of the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

(1758-1760) and

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

(1760–1770), played a responsible part in directing the British policy which led to the revolt of the American colonies.

Life

He was born at

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, the younger son of

Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet (bapt. 12 July 1712 – 16 June 1779) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of the provinces of New Jersey and Massachusetts Bay. His uncompromising policies and harsh tactics in Massachus ...

. Rather late in his life, on the death of his elder brother in 1810, Bernard succeeded to the

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 14th ...

cy conferred on his father in 1768. His early education was obtained at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, in which his father took a great interest. He then acted as confidential secretary to his father during the troubles which led (1769) to the governor's recall, and accompanied Sir Francis to England, where he was called to the bar, and practised as a

conveyancer In most Commonwealth countries, a conveyancer is a specialist lawyer who specialises in the legal aspects of buying and selling real property, or conveyancing. A conveyancer can also be (but need not be) a solicitor, licensed conveyancer, or a fe ...

. He married a rich wife, and acquired a considerable fortune, and then devoted most of his time to social work for the benefit of the poor. From 1795 to 1806 he was treasurer of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

for abandoned babies, in the concerns of which he took an important part. After his treasurership, he continued to play a role on the charity's Court of Governors holding the honorary title of Vice President, but resigned when taking on the baronetcy in 1810. He also helped to establish in 1796 the "Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor," in 1800 a school for indigent blind, and in 1801 a fever institution. He was a founding Director of the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

in 1805. He was active in promoting

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

, improving the conditions of

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

, advocating

rural allotments An allotment (British English), or in North America, a community garden, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening or growing food plants, so forming a kitchen garden away from the residence of the user. Such plot ...

, and agitating against the

salt duties Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...

. He took great interest in education, and with

Count Rumford Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolut ...

he was an originator of the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

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 Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He died without issue on 1 July 1818. Sir Thomas was also a Director and leading proponent of the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in eas ...

. He was approached in 1811 by

John Nash (architect) John Nash (18 January 1752 – 13 May 1835) was one of the foremost British architects of the Georgian and Regency eras, during which he was responsible for the design, in the neoclassical and picturesque styles, of many important areas of Lon ...

, the architect, who was a leading advocate of the canal and was present at the Percy Street Meeting, on 31 May 1811 at which a steering committee was set up to plan the building of a canal across north London. Social reformers favoured canals in this period because they greatly reduced the price of coal for the poor, and at that time gas lighting was also being adopted, using gas made from coal. Gas lighting was cheaper than candles. Sir Thomas played a prominent part in the management of the troubled canal throughout his remaining years. In 1818 it was he who finally settled a long-running acrimonious dispute with William Agar of Elm Lodge, whose determined opposition and clever but awkward behaviour had frustrated the canal's construction. Sadly he died just a few weeks after his moment of greatest success when he had resolved this major difficulty by negotiation, so he did not live to see the canal completed. He was buried beneath the chapel of the Foundling Hospital, London, which was demolished in 1928.

References

Attribution: *

External links

The Regent's Canal

The Foundling Museum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Thomas, 3rd Baronet English philanthropists Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Harvard College alumni 1750 births 1818 deaths British social reformers