Sir John Hearsey
John Bennet Hearsey by unknown artist, 1839
Birth nameJohn Bennet Hearsey
Born(1793-01-21)21 January 1793
Midnapore, West Bengal
Died23 November 1865(1865-11-23) (aged 72)
Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Cause of deathBronchitis
AllegianceBritish Raj British India
BranchBengal Army
Years of service1808–65
RankLieutenant-General
Battles/warsBattle of Sitabuldi
Siege of Bharatpur
Second Anglo-Sikh War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Spouse(s)
Harriet Zihur-Ul-Nissa
​
​
(m. 1832⁠–⁠1848)​

Lieut.-Gen. Sir John Bennet Hearsey KCB FLS (21 January 1793 – 23 October 1865) was a British military commander in the Bengal Army who was colonel of the 21st Hussars and of the left wing of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry. He was also an amateur naturalist and entomologist and collected a large number of insects from Asia.[1]

Biography

Hearsey was born in Midnapore, West Bengal, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Wilson Hearsey and Charlotte Crane. At the time of his birth, his father commanded the 9th Native Infantry at Midnapore.[2]

He married his cousin Harriet Zihur-Ul-Nissa (1806–48), the only daughter of his cousin Maj. Hyder Young Hearsey and the Khanum Zihur-ul-nissa. His mother-in-law was the daughter of the deposed Prince of Cambay. They had four sons and three daughters. After her death in London, he married Emma Rumball, with whom he had four sons and a daughter. Emma died in 1865.[3]

He died in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, from complications of bronchitis, aged 72.[1] He was the great-uncle of Archdeacon Henry Hearsey.[4]

Career

Hearsey enlisted in the British Indian army in 1808. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1809, captain in 1819, major in 1833, lieutenant colonel in 1838, brevet colonel in 1849, colonel in 1852, major general in 1854, and lieutenant general in 1862.[1]

In 1817, Hearsey fought at the battle of Sitabuldi and the 1825–26 siege and capture of Bhurtpore. During the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1848-49, he fought at Battle of Chillianwala and Battle of Gujrat, and commanded the calvary in final pursuit and surrender of the Sikh army. He was injured in battle several times during his career.[5]

In 1857, he was the commanding officer at Barrackpore when sepoy Mangal Pandey attempted to start a mutiny and was threatening to shoot British officers. When confronted by Maj.-Gen. Hearsey and ordered to surrender, Pandey shot himself but survived. He and another Indian sepoy—who had refused to arrest Pandey—were later hanged, despite Pandey's pleas that he had been under the influence of opium and bhang at the time of his actions. The incident contributed to the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[6] In July 1857, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for his role in suppressing the rebellion.[7]

Naturalist

Hearsey had a keen interest in insects, collecting specimens from South Asia. He was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1847.[8] He regularly exhibited his specimens from China and India, which were of great interest to British entomologists.[5]

Prophalangopsis obscura, a winged insect species found North India, was identified in 1865 by Francis Walker from Hearsey's specimen.[9] His collection was a significant source for John O. Westwood's illustrated book Cabinet of Oriental Entomology; Being a Selection of Some of the Rarer and More Beautiful Species of Insects, Natives of India and the Adjacent Islands (1848).[5]

Hearsey's entomological and botanical diary (1838-46) is held at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.[10]

Gallery

John O. Westwood's illustrations from Cabinet of Oriental Entomology based on Hearsey's collection:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Death of Lieut. General John Bennet Hearsey". London Morning Herald. 28 October 1865. p. 6. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Pearse, Colonel Hugh (1905). The Hearseys: Five Generations of an Anglo Indian Family. William Blackwood And Sons. pp. 119–123. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Pearse, Colonel Hugh (1905). The Hearseys: Five Generations of an Anglo Indian Family. William Blackwood And Sons. p. 137. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Obituary: Lt.-Col. H. H. Y. Hearsey". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 3 May 1930. p. 14.
  5. 1 2 3 "Obituary Notices". The Journal of the Linnean Society: Zoology. The Society: lxv. 1868. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Richards, Donald (22 March 2007). Cawnpore & Lucknow: A Tale of Two Sieges- Indian Mutiny. Pen and Sword. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-84415-516-3. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "No. 6717". The Edinburgh Gazette (Supplement). 10 July 1857. p. 622.
  8. ↑ Desmond, Ray (11 September 2002). Dictionary Of British and Irish Botantists and Horticulturalists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. p. 1455. ISBN 978-1-4665-7387-1. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Ashworth, James (11 August 2022). "Listen to the call: Scientists recreate the song of a 150-year-old insect that could help rediscover its species". Phys.org. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  10. ↑ "Hearsey, Sir John Bennett, (1793-1865), Knight Major General". The National Archives, Kew. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
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