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whereby he could receive unpaid diplomatic appointments. Hence nine of the twenty-three years of
Lettsom's service were unsalaried; promotion was slow. This glacial treatment did not apply, however, to those who had powerful political friends, for they were soon appointed to agreeable capitals at
274:
In this debate
Lettsom was used as a case in point to illustrate the defects of the unreformed system. It has been noted that Lettsom, "who had invariably conducted himself to the satisfaction of those who employed him", received one of the slowest promotions in the diplomatic service. A diplomat
326:
One of its provisions concerned the acquisition by
Argentina of large tracts of territory then in dispute between it and Paraguay. Lettsom was not satisfied about this and surreptitiously obtained a copy of the Treaty from the Uruguayan diplomat Dr Carlos de Castro. He forwarded it to London and
283:
While in Mexico the
British government suspended relations with that country on Lettsom's representation, and he was the object of an attempted assassination. Between 1859 and 1869 Lettsom was appointed Consul-General and Chargé d'Affaires to the Republic of Uruguay.
327:
the
British government ordered it to be translated into English and published to Parliament. When the text became available in South America there was outrage in several quarters, some because of the Treaty's content, others because it had been published at all.
198:, while placing the other electrode in contact with an unwounded finger, a current was observed to flow. Lettsom observed that the experiment was repeatable for he had tried it himself. In 1857 while on diplomatic service in Mexico he sent to the
786:
202:
of London some seeds which, when put in a warm place, became "very lively". The grub responsible had not been investigated scientifically before, wrote
Lettsom, and he asked the Society to do so. These were the celebrated
280:
enormous salaries. The motion was carried by 112 votes to 57, Mr Otway MP remarking that "The person who had shown himself to be the fittest man, whether he was the son of a Peer or a tailor, should be chosen".
214:
telescope for astronomical observations in the southern hemisphere. Owing to unknown problems he sent the telescope back to New York to be checked and adjusted by the telescope maker. The telescope was received by
265:
In the unreformed
British diplomatic service there were no examinations; candidates were appointed by the influence of political friends. This caused criticism. In the House of Commons on 22 May 1855 the motion
270:
That it is the opinion of this House that the complete
Revision of our Diplomatic Establishment recommended in the Report of the Select Committee of 1850 on Official Salaries should be carried into effect.
257:
he entered the diplomatic service. After postings in Berlin, Munich (1831), Washington (1840), Turin (1849) and Madrid (1850) he was appointed secretary to the
Legation at Mexico (1854) and became the
83:
the celebrated criminal defender, afterwards a judge, who introduced the phrase "presumed innocent until proven guilty" into the common law and whose life inspired the television drama series
748:
160:
Lettsom was a competent scientist in an age when this was still possible for an amateur. He was best known as the joint author of Greg and
Lettsom's
168:
of the British Isles. First published in 1858, a century later it was still the standard work on the subject, when a reprint was issued. The mineral
336:
Lettsom has been cited as an exemplar of the nuance with which a substantial part of the British diplomatic corps saw the Paraguayan War.
323:
against Paraguay. By Article XVIII of the Treaty its provisions were to be kept secret until its "principal object" should be obtained.
35:
774:
136:
in which some of Thackeray's earliest work appeared; Lettsom has been identified as the character Tapeworm in Thackeray's novel
882:
863:
725:
854:
Vanable, Joseph W Jr (2007). "A History of bioelectricity in development and regeneration". In Dinsmore, Charles E. (ed.).
344:
Lettsom retired from the diplomatic service in 1869. He never married. He died of acute bronchitis on 14 December 1887.
38:(1805 – 14 December 1887) was a British diplomat and scientist. He was instrumental in revealing the text of the secret
737:"When Hegemony Fails: British Imperialism in India and Brazil from the Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Centuries"
401:
Presumably because his grandfather Dr Lettsom produced a cure for tapeworm (by dosing the patients with paraffin).
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926:
120:
331:
320:
39:
219:, pioneer astrophotographer and spectroscopist and associate of the Royal Astronomical Society, who helped
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911:
199:
129:
26:
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187:
180:
304:
140:, a diplomat who fancies himself as a ladies' man. Lettsom was well acquainted with the cartoonist
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700:
216:
259:
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But his scientific interests were wider, and he corresponded with the most eminent workers in
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8:
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and the author of several papers on geological, electrical and spectroscopic subjects.
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141:
25:
Lettsom caricatured as the diplomat 'Tapeworm' (centre, standing): pencil sketch by
811:
807:
648:
254:
43:
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on this task. The telescope was left in Uruguay and is in use to this day by the
148:. Lettsom was a contributor to various literary periodicals under the pseudonym
145:
84:
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191:
124:
First page of the letter sent by Lewis Rutherford to Lettsom, April 10th 1863.
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80:
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67:
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As an undergraduate at Cambridge University Lettsom befriended the author
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seized Brazilian and Argentine shipping and invaded the provinces of the
164:, which was the most complete and accurate work that had appeared on the
709:
Hansard's Parliamentary Debates Third Series 18 & 19 Victoriae 1855
660:
316:
235:
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165:
319:(Argentina). On 1 May 1865 Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay signed the
250:
79:
His maternal grandfather − with whom he lived in his youth − was Sir
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652:
635:
Bindoff, S.T. (1935). "The Unreformed Diplomatic Service, 1812–60".
548:
The deposition of López or (on another view) the demolition of the
479:
749:"Obituary: List of Fellows and Associates deceased Lettsom, W.G."
194:: by making a wound in a finger and inserting the electrode of a
875:
Road to Armageddon: Paraguay Versus the Triple Alliance, 1866–70
299:
Lettsom tells London he is getting a copy of the secret Treaty..
792:
Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society
741:
Western Political Science Association 2011 Annual Meeting Paper
59:
55:
591:
455:
303:
In 1864 and early 1865 Paraguayan forces under the orders of
433:
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While on diplomatic service in Uruguay he brought a 9 inch
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718:
Sir William Garrow: His Life, Times and Fight for Justice
496:
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373:
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224:
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in 1849. In that year he communicated an experiment in
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Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London 1856
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who held that sea-bathing was good for public health.
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530:
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491:
467:
416:
366:
773:
679:
Manual of the Mineralogy of Great Britain and Ireland
485:
443:
404:
162:
Manual of the Mineralogy of Great Britain and Ireland
720:. Sherfield on Loddon, Hampshire: Waterside Press.
354:
849:. Vol. 87. London: Nichols Son & Bentley.
785:
692:
383:
847:The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Quarterly
756:Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
676:Greg, Robert Philips; Lettsom, William G (1858).
893:
858:. Cambridge University Press. pp. 151–178.
779:. London: Entomological Society of London. 1858.
287:
715:
597:
461:
787:"Third supplementary list of British minerals"
711:. Vol. 138. London: Cornelius Buck. 1855.
628:Thackeray, of the Great Heart and Humorous Pen
275:was expected to be a gentleman and to have a
116:An extract from Lettsom's book on mineralogy.
637:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
675:
422:
66:was a famous physician, philanthropist and
225:Uruguayan Amateur Astronomers' Association
716:Hostettler, John; Braby, Richard (2020).
62:in March 1805. His paternal grandfather
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743:. San Antonio: SSRN. pp. 1–175.
144:, illustrator of the early works of
13:
856:A History of Regeneration Research
691:Greig, John Young Thomson (1950).
14:
948:
877:. University of Calgary Press.
542:
186:He was elected a Fellow of the
812:10.1180/minmag.1958.031.240.07
395:
132:and was the (or an) editor of
16:British diplomat and scientist
1:
619:
332:Treaty of the Triple Alliance
321:Treaty of the Triple Alliance
288:Treaty of the Triple Alliance
240:
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40:Treaty of the Triple Alliance
695:Thackeray: A reconsideration
155:
7:
598:Hostettler & Braby 2020
462:Hostettler & Braby 2020
230:
200:Royal Entomological Society
130:William Makepeace Thackeray
27:William Makepeace Thackeray
10:
953:
873:Whigham, Thomas L (2017).
735:McIntyre, Michael (2011).
645:Cambridge University Press
486:Entomological Society 1858
329:
249:Having been called to the
188:Royal Astronomical Society
179:. He was a member of the
89:
72:
826:Thompson, George (1869).
181:London Electrical Society
845:Urban, Sylvanus (1817).
832:. London: Logmans, Green
347:
339:
96:Lettsom was educated at
54:Lettsom was born into a
701:Oxford University Press
423:Greg & Lettsom 1858
42:between Argentina, the
784:Spencer, L.J. (1958).
762:: 165. February 1888.
305:Francisco Solano López
300:
272:
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33:William Garrow Lettsom
29:
927:British mineralogists
626:Benét, Laura (1947).
295:
268:
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205:Mexican jumping beans
123:
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108:Literary acquaintance
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297:Parliamentary paper.
172:is named after him.
102:Cambridge University
75:John Coakley Lettsom
64:John Coakley Lettsom
829:The War in Paraguay
804:1958MinM...31..787S
768:1888MNRAS..48R.165.
550:Fortress of Humaitá
527:, pp. 898–921.
937:People from Fulham
912:Amateur scientists
301:
247:
126:
118:
98:Westminster School
30:
922:British diplomats
884:978-1-55238-810-5
865:978-0-521-04796-8
727:978-190-438-0-559
440:, pp. 165–6.
413:, pp. 102–3.
313:Rio Grande do Sul
260:Chargé d'affaires
142:George Cruikshank
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44:Empire of Brazil
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917:Spectroscopists
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798:(240): 78–810.
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330:Main article:
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277:private income
239:Lincoln's Inn
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192:bioelectricity
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92:William Garrow
90:Main article:
81:William Garrow
73:Main article:
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610:Obituary 1888
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586:McIntyre 2011
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574:Thompson 1869
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438:Obituary 1888
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315:(Brazil) and
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834:. Retrieved
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815:. Retrieved
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630:. Dodd Mead.
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562:Whigham 2017
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537:Hansard 1855
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513:Bindoff 1935
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150:Dr. Bulgardo
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85:Garrow's Law
78:
68:abolitionist
53:
32:
31:
18:
907:1887 deaths
902:1805 births
836:17 November
817:15 November
647:: 143–172.
309:Mato Grosso
244: 1830
138:Vanity Fair
896:Categories
699:. Oxford:
682:. London:
620:References
411:Greig 1950
390:Benét 1947
361:Urban 1817
317:Corrientes
221:Henry Fitz
212:Henry Fitz
170:lettsomite
166:mineralogy
58:family at
50:Early life
669:154655198
156:Scientist
231:Diplomat
134:The Snob
800:Bibcode
764:Bibcode
661:3678607
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60:Fulham
56:Quaker
752:(PDF)
665:S2CID
657:JSTOR
348:Notes
340:Later
879:ISBN
860:ISBN
838:2021
819:2021
722:ISBN
311:and
262:.
100:and
36:FRAS
808:doi
649:doi
266:was
253:by
251:Bar
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
