Cadwallader Colden

Cadwallader Colden, 1772

Cadwallader Colden (born February 7, 1688 in Ireland , † September 20, 1776 in New York City ) was a British doctor, botanist, scientist and politician. Between 1760 and 1770 he was three times acting British governor of the province of New York .

Life

Cadwallader Colden was born in Ireland, but came from a Scottish family. He studied at the University of Edinburgh , where he first studied theology until 1705 at the request of his father, a clergyman. He then studied medicine, anatomy, physics, chemistry and botany in London . In 1710 he emigrated to Philadelphia , where he practiced as a doctor. Since 1717 he was based in the province of New York, where he was in 1720 head of land surveying ( Surveyor General ). In the same year he was appointed to the Provincial Council by the colonial governor William Burnet . He was representative of the colony with the Iroquois ( Iroquois Confederacy ). He later wrote the book The History of the Five Indian Nations about this tribe.

In 1739 he temporarily left New York City and moved to his farm Coldengham , where he devoted himself to various scientific studies, mainly in the fields of medicine, botany and physics. Among other things, he dealt with the work of Isaac Newton , which he even expanded or improved in some areas. He was also friends with Benjamin Franklin . This relationship broke up over the political events that led to American independence.

Between 1760 and 1775 he was Deputy Colonial Governor of the Province of New York several times. After the death of James De Lancey , he held the post of acting governor of the colony for the first time between 1760 and 1762. After the interim governor Robert Monckton returned to England in 1763, Colden was again acting governor until 1765. During this time there was the first unrest in the colony in connection with the so-called Stamp Act . Colden, who was to remain a loyal supporter of the British Crown throughout his life, resisted the uprisings. This made him unpopular with the Americans. Among other things, a picture of him was burned at a demonstration. According to some sources, he was even temporarily imprisoned by the New York City council until he promised not to collect the hated tax. In 1765, the new governor Henry Moore took office. After Colden's death in 1769, Colden took over the post of acting governor for the third time, which he held until 1771, despite his advanced age. From 1774 to 1775 he was once again deputy governor. When he heard of the start of the American Revolutionary War , he withdrew from politics. As a loyal Briton, he feared for his life. He died on September 20, 1776.

His daughter Jane Colden (1724–1766) was the first woman to work as a botanist in America, and his grandson Cadwallader D. Colden (1769–1834) was an American lawyer , officer, and politician . Between 1821 and 1823 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives . He was also Mayor of New York City from 1818 to 1821. He was an elected member of the American Philosophical Society .

Web links

Commons : Cadwallader Colden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Cadwallader Colden in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Colden at Facts Monster
• Colden at Encyclopedia.com
• Colden at Your Dictionary
• Colden in the database of the NNDB

Individual evidence

1. ^ Member History: Cadwallader Colden. American Philosophical Society, accessed June 24, 2018 .