43:
472:
388:
184:, in 1749, the 14-year-old Watson was attacked by a shark. The shark attacked twice before Watson was rescued. The first time, the shark removed flesh from below the calf of Watson's right leg; the second time, it bit off his right foot at the ankle. Watson was rescued by his shipmates, but his leg had to be
452:
to be delivered to them immediately after the
Decease of my Wife Helen Watson or before if she shall think proper so to do hoping the said worthy Governors will receive the same as a testimony of the high estimation in which I hold that most Excellent Charity and that they will allow it to be hung up
435:
On his return from that service he was elected an
Alderman of the City of London and one of its representatives in parliament, and continued Member of the House of Commons till he was appointed to the situation of Commissary General to the Army under His Royal Highness the Duke of York, acting on the
235:
In 1759 Watson went to London to continue his mercantile career, and for a while, he was a partner with Joshua
Maugher. Watson became a successful merchant, engaging in business in London, Montreal and Boston, amongst other places. In 1763 he obtained, with others, a land grant from the government of
442:
He died in 1807, an
Alderman of the City of London, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, &c, &c thus shewing that a high sense of integrity and rectitude with a firm reliance on an overruling providence united to activity and exertion are the sources of public and private virtue and the
275:
on a voyage from Canada to
England. Allen wrote that he "was put under the power of an English Merchant from London, whose name was Brook Watson: a man of malicious and cruel disposition, and who was probably excited, in the exercise of his malevolence, by a junto of tories, who sailed with him to
431:
He served in the
Commissariat Department of the Army under the immortal Wolfe at Louisberg in 1758. In 1759 he was established as a merchant in London and was subsequently called upon to act as Commissary General to the Army in America commanded by Sir Guy Carleton, late Lord Dorchester.
427:
He was of a very good family in the North of
England but having lost both his parents early in life was brought up by an aunt, and before the age of fourteen years manifested a strong predilection for the sea, which led to the misfortune represented in the picture.
447:
Watson's will, dated 12 August 1803, stated: "I give and bequeath my
Picture painted by Mr. Copley which represents the accident by which I lost my Leg in the Harbour of the Havannah in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty Nine to the Governors of
503:('Under God's Protection') below. In return for his services in North America, Parliament voted Watson's wife an annuity of £500 for life. Watson died in 1807. His baronetcy descended, by special remainder, to his grand-nephew William.
406:
met in 1774: some say they travelled on the same ship from Boston to
England, and some that they met in London. Whatever the circumstances of their meeting, Watson commissioned Copley to produce the work, known as
881:
333:
in 1796. From 1793 to 1796 Watson served as
Commissary General to the British Army in Flanders under the Duke of York, and from 1798 until 1806 served as Commissary-General of England. (
256:
in 1772 and later served for ten years as its chairman. He combined his mercantile affairs with government business. He visited Massachusetts, New York and other colonies before the
162:
823:
268:
wrote that Watson "ingratiated himself with many leading Americans, obtained as much information on their designs as he could, and transmitted it to his chosen masters".
329:
and Middlesex in 1785. Watson was agent for New Brunswick in London from 1786 until 1794, and Commissary-General to the Duke of York from 1793 to 1795. He was
730:
695:
424:
This picture representing a remarkable occurrence in the life of Brook Watson was bequeathed to the Royal Hospital of Christ in London by his will.
459:] Lesson to Youth". The school's Committee of Almoners accepted the painting in 1819. In 1963 it was purchased from Christ's Hospital by the
158:. Before the age of 14, Watson had expressed his interest in the sea, so his uncle signed him up as a crew member on one of his merchant ships.
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road to honours and respect. The picture was painted by John Singleton Copley Esq. Royal Academician in the year 1778.
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A verse penned by one of Watson's political enemies poked fun at his ordeal (and perhaps at his abilities):
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on 5 December 1803. Watson's coat of arms was designed to reference his ordeal with the shark. Underneath
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682:
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was before parliament. In 1782 he acted as Commissary General to the army commanded in North America by
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150:, in 1735, he was orphaned in 1741 and sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Boston, Massachusetts in
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refers to this office as the "Commissariat Office of the Treasury"). Watson served several terms as a
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On his return to Boston, Watson found that his uncle was bankrupt. He took a job under Captain
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area. He worked with the English trader Joseph Slayter, and in 1758 he was commissary under
111:(7 February 1735 – 2 October 1807) was an English merchant and politician who served as the
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brandishing his trident, the shield bears Watson's severed right leg, with the Latin motto
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below the knee. Watson recuperated in a Cuban hospital and recovered within three months.
8:
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In 1796 he was chosen Lord Mayor and in 1803 created a baronet of the United Kingdom.
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Watson was the only son of John Watson and Sarah Watson (née Schoefield). Born in
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Shipowners investing in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775 to 1815
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225:
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657:"The National Portrait Gallery, London: six versions of portraits of Watson"
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522:
History of the rise and progress of the arts of design in the United States
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155:
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Watson married Helen Campbell in 1760. Her father was Colin Campbell, a
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Jeffery, Margaret (Dec 1942). "A Painting of Copley's English Period",
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After this, he returned to London, where he was elected to serve as an
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that were said to prove that Gage was a spy. Calling him 'a traitor',
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in the Hall of their Hospital as holding out a most usefull [
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Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
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of the 1790's, Watson publicly defended Britain's involvement in the
394:'s painting dramatically showed Watson's rescue by his shipmates in
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143:
63:
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A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity, Written by Himself
204:, Nova Scotia (1750). At Fort Lawrence, he came to the notice of
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33:
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Incidents in the life and ministry of the Rev. Alex. R.C. Dallas
299:. Watson owned at least two South Sea whaling ships. These were
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which was completed in 1778. The painting was exhibited at the
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177:
131:
639:. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. 2006. Archived from
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on a schooner that supplied provisions to the British army at
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of the City. Watson served as a Member of Parliament for the
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In November 1775 Watson accompanied American prisoner-of-war
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that resulted in the loss of his right leg below the knee.
455:
25:
260:, during which time he intercepted letters to General
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from 1796 to 1797. He is best known as the subject of
606:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10554
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Watson was a member of the original committee of the
584:
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/watson_brook_5E.html
232:. He was known as 'the wooden-legged commissary'.
545:. New York: C. Goodrich and S.B. Nichols. p.
491:. The Watsons had no children. Watson was made a
216:. Three years later he was sent to supervise the
833:
402:Sources differ as to how Watson and the artist
367:Had scarce supply'd him with a head so good.
244:, which had been founded four years earlier.
154:. His uncle was a merchant who traded in the
673:the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
420:Today the text beneath the painting reads:
363:That luckless limb, his noblest noddle met,
16:English merchant and politician (1735–1807)
566:Jane M. Clayton & Charles A. Clayton,
365:The best of workmen, nor the best of wood,
361:Oh! Had the monster, who for breakfast ate
41:
623:The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin,
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386:
160:
372:
834:
518:
902:British politicians with disabilities
535:
525:. Vol. 1. New York. p. 117.
312:
13:
872:18th-century lord mayors of London
345:between 1784 and 1807. During the
325:from 1784 until 1793. He was also
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191:
14:
923:
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281:House of Commons of Great Britain
877:18th-century English politicians
797:Baronetage of the United Kingdom
618:, 3rd. ed., Burlington, Vermont.
580:Dictionary of Canadian Biography
570:, Hassobury, 2016, p.130–1, 153.
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417:in 1778 and caused a sensation.
254:Corporation of Lloyd's of London
912:18th-century English merchants
867:Sheriffs of the City of London
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588:
573:
560:
529:
512:
1:
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137:
109:Sir Brook Watson, 1st Baronet
907:English proslavery activists
477:St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake
347:British abolitionist debates
130:on Watson as a young man in
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683:Parliament of Great Britain
285:Frederick North, Lord North
279:Watson was examined by the
10:
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378:
258:American Revolutionary War
230:Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
897:British people in whaling
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710:Member of Parliament for
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688:
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218:expulsion of the Acadians
214:Battle of Fort Beauséjour
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49:
40:
23:
625:New Series, 1(4):148–150
519:Dunlap, William (1834).
176:While swimming alone in
461:National Gallery of Art
287:'s bill concerning the
753:Sir William Curtis, Bt
736:Sir William Curtis, Bt
637:"Watson and the Shark"
542:Capture of Ticonderoga
480:
475:Memorial to Watson at
445:
399:
370:
173:
862:British MPs 1790–1796
857:British MPs 1784–1790
789:John William Anderson
757:Sir John Anderson, Bt
614:Allen, Ethan (1838).
474:
436:continent of Europe.
422:
404:John Singleton Copley
390:
358:
212:with Monckton at the
208:, and by 1755 he was
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117:John Singleton Copley
887:Shark attack victims
779:Lord Mayor of London
410:Watson and the Shark
382:Watson and the Shark
374:Watson and the Shark
351:Atlantic slave trade
331:Lord Mayor of London
301:Prince William Henry
293:New England Colonies
242:county of Cumberland
122:Watson and the Shark
113:Lord Mayor of London
94:Merchant, politician
643:on 11 November 2006
582:"Sir Brook Watson"
463:, Washington, D.C.
226:General James Wolfe
481:
400:
174:
830:
829:
821:Succeeded by
786:Succeeded by
742:Succeeded by
731:Nathaniel Newnham
716:1784–1793
696:Nathaniel Newnham
450:Christ's Hospital
327:Sheriff of London
106:
105:
919:
892:English amputees
769:Preceded by
749:Sir Watkin Lewes
726:Sir Watkin Lewes
704:Sir Watkin Lewes
689:Preceded by
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335:Alexander Dallas
313:Political career
303:(1792–1795) and
297:Sir Guy Carleton
152:colonial America
126:which depicts a
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343:Bank of England
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248:Business career
206:Robert Monckton
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192:Military career
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60:7 February 1735
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764:Civic offices
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721:John Sawbridge
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700:John Sawbridge
692:Frederick Bull
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283:in 1775, when
266:William Dunlap
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170:Robert Dighton
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671:Biography at
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852:Kay baronets
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645:. Retrieved
641:the original
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550:. Retrieved
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537:Allen, Ethan
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128:shark attack
120:
119:'s painting
108:
107:
80:(1807-10-02)
30:Brook Watson
18:
847:1807 deaths
842:1735 births
824:William Kay
662:15 December
647:12 November
487:working in
273:Ethan Allen
262:Thomas Gage
238:Nova Scotia
198:John Huston
156:West Indies
836:Categories
818:1803–1807
783:1796–1797
738:1790–1793
507:References
276:England".
222:Baie Verte
210:commissary
166:Caricature
138:Early life
56:1735-02-07
733:1784–1790
728:1784–1793
723:1784–1793
489:Edinburgh
485:goldsmith
289:fisheries
220:from the
186:amputated
180:harbour,
539:(1849).
339:director
319:Alderman
144:Plymouth
64:Plymouth
810:Baronet
552:28 June
497:Neptune
493:baronet
398:harbour
341:of the
291:of the
240:of the
228:at the
85:England
718:With:
712:London
396:Havana
392:Copley
178:Havana
172:, 1803
132:Havana
99:Spouse
148:Devon
68:Devon
664:2006
649:2006
554:2011
182:Cuba
75:Died
50:Born
456:sic
26:Sir
838::
547:17
353:.
146:,
124:,
66:,
34:Bt
666:.
651:.
556:.
479:.
58:)
54:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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