Richard Bourke
#24,370
Most Influential Person Across History
British Army general and colonial administrator
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Political Science
Why Is Richard Bourke Influential?
(Suggest an Edit or Addition)According to Wikipedia, General Sir Richard Bourke, KCB , was an Irish soldier, who served in the British Army and was Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. As a lifelong Whig , he encouraged the emancipation of convicts and helped bring forward the ending of penal transportation to Australia. In this, he faced strong opposition from the landlord establishment and its press. He approved a new settlement on the Yarra River, and named it Melbourne, in honour of the incumbent British prime minister, Lord Melbourne.
