Thomas Falconer (25 June 1805 – 28 August 1882) was an English jurist and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. Born in Bath, England on 25 June 1805, Falconer was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1823, and to the bar in 1830. He practised for a number of years as an equity draftsman and conveyancer, and later turned to codifying the laws and statutes of England. In 1840, Falconer immigrated to the Republic of Texas, sailing from England on the ''Britannia'' on 20 October, and arriving in May 1841. On his arrival he obtained permission to accompany the

Texan Santa Fe Expedition The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a commercial and military expedition to secure the Republic of Texas's claims to parts of Northern New Mexico for Texas in 1841. The expedition was unofficially initiated by the then-President of Texas, Mirabeau ...

as an observer. The expedition left Austin on 18 June. On the trail towards

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, Falconer had his horse stolen by

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

s. On 31 August, the expedition leader, Hugh McLeod, decided to split the party, with some to proceed to San Miguel and return with provision, while the rest remained in camp. As Falconer had no horse, he remained in camp. Falconer's party was attacked by Indians a number of times, and nearly starved to death before the other party returned on 9 October as prisoners of the Mexicans. Falconer's party was also taken prisoner, and marched to Mexico City, arriving on 3 February 1842. He was then immediately released at the demand of the British minister

Richard Pakenham Sir Richard Pakenham PC (19 May 1797 – 28 October 1868) was a British diplomat of Anglo-Irish background. He served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1843 until 1847, during which time he unsuccessfully worked to prevent ...

. Later that year, Falconer published his account of the expedition as ''Expedition to Santa Fé: An Account of Its Journey from Texas through Mexico, with Particulars of Its Capture''. In 1844 he also published ''Notes of a Journey through Texas and New Mexico, in the years 1841 and 1842'' in the ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London''. After returning to England, he published another major work on his travels, ''The Oregon Question; or a Statement of the British Claims to the Oregon Territory in Opposition to the Pretension of the Government of the United States of America''. In 1848, Falconer was offered, but declined, an appointment as private secretary to

Henry Barkly Sir Henry Barkly (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences. Early life and education Born on 24 February 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London), he was the eldest son of ...

, governor of British Guiana. Late in 1850 he was appointed an arbitrator to decide the boundary between

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and Canada. In March 1851, he was nominated to the position of Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, but refused appointment. Despite declining the appointment, and therefore never arriving in Western Australia, he is officially considered to have held the position until the next appointment to the position in January 1852. On 22 December 1851, Falconer accepted appointment as judge of Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Rhayader. He sat on the bench for thirty years, retiring to the Royal Crescent in Bath in December 1881. He died at Bath on 28 August 1882, the result of a fall he had suffered the previous June while visiting the Bath Rose Show. He was member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Geological Society of London.

Arms

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falconer, Thomas 1805 births 1882 deaths Colonial Secretaries of Western Australia English explorers English legal professionals People from Bath, Somerset 19th-century Australian politicians Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge Republic of Texas