Anthony Lockwood (1775 - April 2, 1855) was a Royal Navy officer and hydrographer active in the West Indies and Canada in the early 20th century. He joined the Royal Navy in 1791 and became a master of the Royal Navy on May 27, 1795. From 1799 - 1801, he was assigned as master of the Crescent, producing surveys of Curaçao and the Spanish Main. During this work, he fell ill, possibly malaria, and returned to England in 1804. Recovering somewhat, he surveyed Cape Ferrat, France, La Coruña, Spain, and Falmouth Harbour, England, as well as making an incomplete survey of the Channel Islands. In 1807 he was assigned to Barbados as 'acting master attendant'. By 1811 he was back in the West Indies, where he produced a survey of the Virgin Islands. He retired from the navy with a considerable pension in 1818. Returning to England, he privately published A Brief Description of Nova Scotia, with plates of the Principal Harbors. In 1819, he petitioned for the position of Surveyor General of New Brunswick, which he was awarded. He was initially very active in this position, producing several acclaimed new surveys. Nonetheless, he began to suffer from an unknown mental illness. By 1822, Lockwood's mental state had deteriorated considerably and contemporaries described him as 'erratic' and 'pugnacious'. Other reports suggest he was simply 'very ardent' in the pursuit of social justice. Unable to continue in his office, he was replaced by George Shore, who found the offices and paperwork in a sorry state of disarray. Even more alarming was an accounting discrepancy of some £2,000, which briefly landed Lockwood in jail. After selling off his estate to pay the missing funds, he returned to England for mental health treatment. There he remained, passing in and out of 'insanity' until his 1855 death. A fascinating new book, Master and Madman, by Peter Thomas and Nicholas Tracy, details Lockwood's fascinating life.



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