Robert FitzRoy

Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
2nd Governor of New Zealand
In office
26 December 1843 – 18 November 1845
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byWilliam Hobson
Succeeded bySir George Grey
Personal details
Born(1805-07-05)5 July 1805
Ampton Hall, Ampton, Suffolk, England
Died30 April 1865(1865-04-30) (aged 59)
Lyndhurst, Westow Hill, Norwood, England[1]
Cause of deathSuicide
Spouses
  • Mary Henrietta O'Brien
  • Maria Isabella Smyth
Children5

Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy FRS (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra del Fuego and the Southern Cone.

FitzRoy was a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate daily weather predictions, which he called by a new name of his own invention: "forecasts".[2] In 1854 he established what would later be called the Met Office, and created systems to get weather information to sailors and fishermen for their safety.[2] He was an able surveyor and hydrographer. As Governor of New Zealand, serving from 1843 to 1845, he tried to protect the Māori from illegal land sales claimed by British settlers.[3]

  1. ^ FITZROY Robert Esq... who died 30 April 1865 at Lyndhurst Weston Hill Norwood in the County of Surrey" in Wills and Administrations (England and Wales), ancestry.co.uk, accessed 7 January 2023 (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Robert FitzRoy biography". New Zealand history (NZ Govt website).

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search