Christopher Biden (25 February 1858) was a British officer in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

Mercantile Marine. He came from the village of Houghton in

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

. Retiring after more than twenty years at sea, he wrote a book about naval discipline, made two voyages in his own ship to India, and then settled in Madras as a civil servant of the East India Company.

Early life and family

Biden was born in Houghton,

, England. Biden's father, John Biden, leased

Houghton Mill Houghton Mill is a water mill located on the Great Ouse in the village of Houghton, Cambridgeshire, England. It is a National Trust property and a Grade II* listed building. History Mills have been recorded here since 974. The mill was own ...

. Biden and his younger brother William Henry Biden went to sea at a young age, their father having died in 1797. An older brother, Henry Loyd, went to

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and became a clergyman. In 1818 Biden married Harriott Freeth in

Great Wilne Great Wilne is a small village in Derbyshire, England on the border with Leicestershire. It is south east of Derby. It is a village split from its church of St Chad's by the river. The church is at the very small hamlet of Church Wilne which c ...

, a village in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

close to the town of

Sandiacre Sandiacre is a town and civil parish in the borough of Erewash in Derbyshire,England adjoining the border with Nottinghamshire. The population of the parish was 8,889 at the 2011 Census. The name Sandiacre is usually thought to refer to a ''s ...

where his brother was curate.

Career

Between 1807 and 1818 Biden completed seven return voyages to India as a mate on the

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Royal George''. By 1821 he was captain of the

''Princess Charlotte of Wales''. Between 1821 and 1830 he completed four voyages to India as captain of the ''Princess Charlotte'' and one voyage to China as captain of the new ''Royal George''. Biden then spent two years in Blackheath with his family, publishing a book on naval discipline in 1830. In 1832 and 1834 he sailed his own ship on voyages to India. On the second voyage he named Nelson Island in the

Chagos Archipelago The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...

. In 1839 Biden returned to India to take up the position of Master Attendant and Marine Storekeeper at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. Whilst at Madras he worked on improving safety for shipping in coastal waters, and was involved in charitable activities. He founded the Biden Home for Destitute Seamen at

Royapuram Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for Royapuram Railway Station. The station is the first railway station of South India, opening in 1856, and is today ...

Death

Biden died at Madras in February 1858 at the age of 68 and is commemorated by a plaque in St George's Cathedral. His widow died in London in 1880. He was also survived by two sons and a daughter, another daughter having died on the voyage out to India in 1839.

Legacy

One of Biden's sons, Horatio Biden, joined the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

and is said to have descendants living in India. In 2020 there was speculation in the media that the Bidens of India might be related to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, later

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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. It was suggested that Joe Biden's immigrant ancestor William Biden, who died in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1849, was Christopher Biden's brother William Henry Biden. However, William Henry Biden is recorded as having died at

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

in 1843, so is not the William Biden of Baltimore and any common ancestor of Joe Biden and the Bidens of India would have to be further back than John Biden of Houghton. Harriott Biden kept a common-place book with newspaper cuttings, letters, etc., relating to her husband's work in Madras. The book is preserved on microfilm at the Centre of South Asian Studies at Cambridge University.

Selected publications

*''Naval Discipline: Subordination Contrasted with Insubordination''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biden, Christopher 1858 deaths British East India Company civil servants British East India Company Marine personnel English emigrants to India English philanthropists Military personnel from Chennai People from Huntingdonshire Year of birth uncertain Biden family