Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy FRS (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy, politician and scientist who served as the second governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. 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.
Robert FitzRoy | |
|---|---|
 Robert FitzRoy | |
| 2nd Governor of New Zealand | |
| In office 26 December 1843 – 18 November 1845 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | William Hobson |
| Succeeded by | Sir George Grey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 July 1805 Ampton Hall, Ampton, Suffolk, England |
| Died | 30 April 1865 (aged 59) Lyndhurst, Westow Hill, Norwood, England[1] |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 5 |
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] He was Governor of New Zealand from 1843 to 1845.
In 1851, FitzRoy was elected to the Royal Society.
In 1854, on the recommendation of Vice Admiral Francis Beaufort and the President of the Royal Society, FitzRoy was appointed as chief of a new department to deal with the collection of weather data at sea, with the title of Meteorological Statist to the Board of Trade and a staff of three. This was the forerunner of the modern Meteorological Office.
References
change- ↑ 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)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: The named reference
BBCwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ "Robert FitzRoy biography". New Zealand history (NZ Govt website).
