Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Baronet, PCFRS (9 July 1752 – 2 October 1822)Sparrow (n.d.) was a British politician and colonial administrator. He was the first of the Nepean Baronets.
Family
Nepean was born at St. Stephens near Saltash, Cornwall, the second of three sons of Nicholas Nepean, an innkeeper, and his second wife, Margaret Jones. His father was Cornish and his mother was from
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. The name "Nepean" is thought to come from the village of
Nanpean
Nanpean (from kw, Nanspian, meaning "little valley") is a village in the civil parish of St Stephen-in-Brannel in Cornwall, United Kingdom.Greenwich. They had eight children, including Sir Molyneux Hyde Nepean, 2nd Bt., and Maj.-Gen. William Nepean, whose daughter Anna Maria Nepean married General Sir William Parke. Their youngest child, Rev. Canon Evan Nepean, became the Canon of Westminster and a
Chaplain in Ordinary
''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
Nepean entered the Royal Navy on 28 December 1773, serving on as a clerk to Capt. Hartwell. He was promoted to purser in 1775. During the American Revolutionary War he served as secretary to Admiral Molyneux Shuldham, in Boston in 1776 and again at
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...
Governor of Bombay
Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...
in 1804.
In 1820 he was made a member of the Royal Society. In 1822 he was appointed
Sheriff of Dorset
The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...
but died in office the same year at his estate at
Loders
Loders is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies north-east of the town of Bridport. It is a linear village, sited in the valley of the small River Asker, between Waddon Hill and Boarsbarrow Hill. In the 2011 ce ...
.
Legacy
Places named after Evan Nepean include:
*
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
Nepean Island
Nepean Island (Norfuk: ''Nepeyan Ailen'') is a small uninhabited island located about south of Norfolk Island in the Southwest Pacific. The island is about in area. Nepean Island is uninhabited due to its small size and tall cliffs flanking it ...
in the external territory of
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...