Henry Barkly ( 1815 - 1898 )

Birth: Highbury, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom (24 February 1815) Death: Stapleton Park, Pontefract, Wakefield District, West Yorkshire, England United Kingdom (20 October 1898) Burial Place: Brompton Cemetery, London Profession: Politician; colonial administrator; plantation and slave owner Research field: Natural history; botany Education: Bruce Castle School, Tottenham, London Career: Worked for his father's company Davidson & Barkly, a West India trading company (c 1832); family owned an estate in British Guiana [Guyana] which Barkly inherited (1836); went to Demerara [now part of Guyana]; travelled through British and Dutch Guiana; returned to England (1845); Conservative (Peelite) MP for Leominster (1845-1848); supporter of free trade; Governor of British Guiana (1849-1853); Governor of Jamaica (1853-1856); Governor of Victoria, Australia (1856-1863); Governor of Mauritius (1863-1870); Governor of Cape Colony and High Commisioner of South Africa (1871-1877); worked with the first elected Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, John Molteno; supported the local resistance against Carnarvon's attempt to force the region into a British ruled federation; Royal Commission on Colonial Defence (1879); made scientific collections and sent botanical specimens from places he visited; in retirement devoted himself to scientific pursuits and to committee work for the London Library.