Valentine Blacker
Encyclopedia
Valentine Blacker CB
(born in Armagh
, Northern Ireland
, 1778 - died in Calcutta, India
, 4 February 1826), was a lieutenant colonel in the Honourable East India Company and later Surveyor General
of India
.
He obtained a commission in the Madras Cavalry in 1798, was made a cornet in 1799, and aide-de-camp to a Colonel Stevenson in the Wayanad district
in 1800, and quartermaster-general in 1810. He served in Deccan
, 1817, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. He published a history of Maharashtra War, including discussion of the Battle of Khadki
. He also authored a popular and widely anthologized poem on military service, Oliver's Advice, originally published under Blacker's occasional pseudonym, "Fitz Stewart".
Following the death of his predecessor, William Lambton
, Blacker was made surveyor-general of India, stationed in Calcutta from 1823 until his death from a fever
in 1826 (some accounts report 1827, but his gravestone reads 1826). Andrew Waugh
said of him that "Blacker, with the exception of Col Everest
, was the ablest and most scientific man that ever presided over this expensive department". He was buried in Calcutta.
He and his brother William Blacker
both wrote pseudonymously, and the two are sometimes confused or conflated in texts.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(born in Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, 1778 - died in Calcutta, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 4 February 1826), was a lieutenant colonel in the Honourable East India Company and later Surveyor General
Surveyor General
The Surveyor General is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Originally this would often have been a military appointment, but is now more likely to be a civilian post....
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
He obtained a commission in the Madras Cavalry in 1798, was made a cornet in 1799, and aide-de-camp to a Colonel Stevenson in the Wayanad district
Wayanad District
Wayanad District in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on November 1, 1980 as the 12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. The region was known as Mayakshetra in the...
in 1800, and quartermaster-general in 1810. He served in Deccan
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...
, 1817, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. He published a history of Maharashtra War, including discussion of the Battle of Khadki
Battle of Khadki
The Battle of Khadki took place at Khadki on November 5, 1817 between the forces of the British East India Company and those of Bajirao II, the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire...
. He also authored a popular and widely anthologized poem on military service, Oliver's Advice, originally published under Blacker's occasional pseudonym, "Fitz Stewart".
Following the death of his predecessor, William Lambton
William Lambton
Lieutenant-Colonel William Lambton, FRS was a British soldier, surveyor, and geographer.Lambton was the Superintendent of the Trigonometrical Survey of India, which he began in 1802. He died and is buried at Hinganghat in Wardha district of Maharashtra...
, Blacker was made surveyor-general of India, stationed in Calcutta from 1823 until his death from a fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
in 1826 (some accounts report 1827, but his gravestone reads 1826). Andrew Waugh
Andrew Scott Waugh
Major General Sir Andrew Scott Waugh was a British army officer and surveyor now remembered as the man who named the highest mountain in the world after Sir George Everest, his predecessor in the post of Surveyor-General of India.-Career:Waugh began work on the Great Trigonometric Survey of India...
said of him that "Blacker, with the exception of Col Everest
George Everest
Colonel Sir George Everest was a Welsh surveyor, geographer and Surveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843.Sir George was largely responsible for completing the section of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India along the meridian arc from the south of India extending north to Nepal, a distance...
, was the ablest and most scientific man that ever presided over this expensive department". He was buried in Calcutta.
He and his brother William Blacker
William Blacker
Lieutenant-Colonel William Blacker was an Irish British Army officer and Member of the Royal Irish Academy.-Life and career:...
both wrote pseudonymously, and the two are sometimes confused or conflated in texts.
Publications
- Memoirs of the operations of the British Army in India during the Mahratta war of 1817,1818 and 1819 (London 1821).
External links
- Lieut.-Col. William Blacker From The Dublin University Magazine, Volume 17, Number 101, May 1841