Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Washington, John
WASHINGTON, JOHN (1800–1863), rear-admiral and hydrographer, entered the navy in May 1812 on board the Junon, in which he served during the operations in the Chesapeake [see Cockburn, Sir George, (1772–1853)]. In October 1813 he was moved into the Sybille, which in 1814 was sent to the coast of Greenland to protect the whalers. In November he joined the Royal Naval College, from which he passed out in May 1816 with the gold medal for proficiency in mathematics. He then served for three years in the Forth on the North American station, and afterwards in the Vengeur and Superb on the South American station, till promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 1 Jan. 1821. He was at this time at Valparaiso, and returned to England by what was then an adventurous journey across the Andes and the pampas to Buenos Ayres. In February 1823 he was appointed to the Parthian sloop in the West Indies, after which he was for two years on half-pay, and travelled in France, Spain, and Italy, improving his knowledge of the languages of these countries. In May 1827 he was appointed to the Weasel in the Mediterranean, and in December was moved to the Dartmouth frigate, returning to England in the following spring. During this time he had obtained leave of absence, and travelled in Morocco in company with (Sir) John Drummond-Hay, and determined several positions by astronomical observations. From 1830 to 1833 he was flag-lieutenant to Sir John Poo Beresford [q. v.], commander-in-chief at the Nore, and on 14 Aug. 1833 was promoted to the rank of commander.
From 1836 to 1841 he served as secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, of which society (founded in 1830) he was one of the original members. As secretary, with the assistance of one clerk, he did the whole work of the society, the success of which in its early days was largely due to his energy and devotion. In March 1841 he was appointed to the Shearwater, for surveying work on the east coast of England, and in January 1842 was temporarily lent to the Black Eagle yacht, appointed to bring the king of Prussia to England. In compliment to the king of Prussia, Washington was made captain on 16 March. In January 1843 he was moved to the Blazer, in which he continued the survey of the east coast till 1847. In January 1845 he was also appointed a commissioner for inquiring into the state of the rivers, shores, and harbours of the United Kingdom, and in February was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. Afterwards he was employed in the railway and harbour department of the admiralty; and in 1853, having to visit Denmark, Sweden, and Russia to settle some matters as to an establishment of lifeboats, he was directed by Sir James Graham, then first lord of the admiralty, to collect what information he could as to the state of the Russian Baltic fleet and the defences of Cronstadt, Reval, and Sveaborg. This he did, having also the happy chance of seeing a division of the fleet at sea and watching its manœuvres. During these years he had been acting as assistant to Sir Francis Beaufort [q. v.], the hydrographer; and on Beaufort's resignation in 1855, Washington was appointed as his successor. This office he held till his death, being promoted to the rank of rear-admiral on 12 April 1862.
A man of nervous temperament, the sensibility of which was perhaps increased by his unremitting attention to the work of the office, his health was already much shaken, when it received a further blow by the death of a dearly loved son, and by the accusation made by some of the newspapers that the wreck of the Orpheus on 7 Feb. 1863, on the coast of New Zealand, was owing to the carelessness or culpable ignorance of the hydrographic office. It was easy to show that the accusation was groundless, and that the ship was supplied with the best charts and the latest information; but the injury to Washington proved fatal. After a short visit to Switzerland he was on his way home when he died at Havre on 16 Sept. 1863. On the 19th he was buried in the protestant cemetery at Havre, the funeral being attended by the French officials of the town and representatives from the ministère de la marine in Paris. In September 1833 Washington married Eleonora, youngest daughter of Rev. H. Askew of Greystoke, Cumberland, and had issue.
[Dawson's Memoirs of Hydrography (with a photographic portrait and a list of his official and semi-official papers), ii. 93; O'Byrne's Naval Biogr. Dict.; Journal of the Royal Geographical Soc. vol. xxxiv. p. cxii; Times, 23 Sept. 1863; information from the Royal Society.]