John Walsh

Who was John Walsh?

John Walsh was a British scientist and Secretary to the Governor of Bengal.

John was son of Joseph Walsh, Secretary to the Governor of Fort St. George and cousin to Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, and his sister Margaret, the wife of Lord Clive.

He entered the English East India Company at the age of fifteen and eventually became Clive's private secretary. During the 1757 Plassey campaign against the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, John Walsh was awarded £56,000 in prize money. Upon his return to England in 1759, his fortune was estimated at £147,000, and he quickly sought to purchase the necessary trappings of aristocratic power in eighteenth century Britain: land and political influence. In late 1764, Walsh purchased the large estate of Warfield Park, near Bracknell in Berkshire and spent the next two years doing it up. He was MP for Worcester from 1761 to 1780. He continued to serve Robert Clive, or 'Clive of India' as he became known, and attempted to form a parliamentary interest in his favour.

In later life, John Walsh's interests were scientific.