James Ebenezer Bicheno (25 January 1785 – 25 February 1851) was a British author and colonial official. Bicheno was born in

Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timber ...

, the son of the Rev. James Bicheno, who was minister of the Baptist Church there. He was called to the bar in 1822 but seems to have spent most of his time until 1832 in writing and natural history pursuits, especially with the Linnean Society. 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 mathemati ...

in May, 1827. In 1832 he left London to live at Ty Maen,

South Cornelly South Cornelly ( cy, Corneli Waelod) is a village in Cornelly, Bridgend county borough, Wales. The village is close to North Cornelly, Pyle and Porthcawl, and junction 37 of the M4 motorway, which runs along its northern side. It is in the histor ...

, Glamorgan, where he had been one of the founders of the Maesteg Ironworks in 1826. and where he was a friend of Lewis Weston Dillwyn. This investment ultimately failed and he needed to look for an income. During his years in south Wales Bicheno held conservative views at a time of considerable social and economic change. He was certainly anti-Chartist as his correspondence with the Marquis of Bute, the Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan, clearly shows. He was ever vigilant regarding Chartism in the Maesteg district and sent regular reports of any radical activity to the Marquis. He was appointed colonial secretary of

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

in September 1842. He was a keen amateur botanist and experimented with plants on his small farm on the banks of the

New Town Rivulet The New Town Rivulet (commonly known as Newtown Creek) is a permanently flowing creek in Hobart, Tasmania, that has as its headwaters the springs and snow water run-offs of Mount Wellington. Location The New Town Rivulet flows from its headwat ...

. He had several papers on botany and natural history published in its ''Transactions'' and assisted

Sir William Jardine Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet of Applegarth FRS FRSE FLS FSA (23 February 1800 – 21 November 1874) was a Scottish naturalist. He is known for his editing of a long series of natural history books, ''The Naturalist's Library''. Life an ...

in preparing the two volumes of ''Illustrations of Ornithology'' (Edinburgh, 1830). He lectured on botany to the Mechanics' Institute and had papers published in the ''Transactions of the Royal Society of Tasmania''. He enjoyed books, good food and wine, music and art. His library of 2,500 books was considered the best in the colony. Bicheno was a large man, and it was said that he could fit three full bags of wheat in his trousers.

Commemoration

* Bicheno, a town on the east coast of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia was named after him. *

Bicheno's finch The double-barred finch (''Stizoptera bichenovii'') is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Bicheno's finch or as th ...

(''Taeniopygia bichenovii'') was named to commemorate him.

References

*Verity Papers, Glamorgan Records Office.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bicheno, James Ebenezer 1785 births 1851 deaths People from Newbury, Berkshire Colonial Secretaries of Tasmania 19th-century Australian botanists 19th-century British botanists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Society Australian book and manuscript collectors