Francis James Jackson | |
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%2c_1810.jpg) portrait by Gilbert Stuart, 1810 | |
| Born | December 1770  |
| Died | 5 August 1814 (aged 43–44) |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Employer |
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| Parent(s) |
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| Family | George Jackson |
| Position held | ambassador of the United Kingdom to Turkey (1796–1799), ambassador of the United Kingdom to France (1801–1802), ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the United States (1809–1810), ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to Prussia (1802–1806) |
Francis James Jackson (December 1770 – 5 August 1814) was a British diplomat, ambassador to theOttoman Empire,Prussia and theUnited States.
Francis Jackson entered thediplomatic service aged only 16 and served as aForeign Office clerk. In April 1788 he brought back fromThe Hague the signed copy of "a treaty of defensive alliance between His Majesty and theStates General of theUnited Provinces" which was signed on 15 April.[1][2] This treaty and a subsequent alliance with Prussia in August 1788 created a"Triple Alliance" against Russia which, however, lasted only until 1791.
In 1789 Jackson was appointed Secretary to the Britishlegation inBerlin.[3] He later held a similar post inMadrid[4] where he acted asMinister (head of mission)ad interim after the departure ofLord St Helens in 1794 until the arrival ofthe Marquess of Bute in 1795 (becauseLord Yarmouth, who should have succeeded St Helens, did not go).[5] Jackson was then appointed ambassador to theOttoman Porte in 1796.[6] In November 1801Marquess Cornwallis was sent to France to finalise peace terms: the negotiations took place at Amiens, and resulted in theTreaty of Amiens signed on 25 March 1802. Cornwallis took with him to Amiens the secretary to the embassy in Paris,Anthony Merry, and Jackson was sent to take Merry's placead interim with the rank of minister-plenipotentiary.[7] In October 1802 he moved on to beEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary toPrussia in Berlin,[8] where he stayed until 1806 whenPrussia was defeated in theWar of the Fourth Coalition. In 1807 he was sent on a special mission toDenmark where he witnessed thebombardment of Copenhagen.
In 1809 Jackson was sent toWashington, D.C., as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary[9] after the recall ofDavid Erskine when the British government refused to ratify Erskine's attempt to resolve the difficulties following a conflict between HMSLeopard and the US frigateChesapeake (theChesapeake–Leopard affair). Jackson remained at Washington until 1811. He died at Brighton, after a long illness, in 1814. TheMorning Post reported his death thus:
On Friday evening died at Brighton, in the 44th year of his age, Francis James Jackson, Esq., late his Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America.
Mr Jackson had the honour of serving his Majesty and his country from the early age of 16. In the course of his professional life he was appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Porte, and Accredited Minister to the Courts of Madrid and Berlin. At the latter place he married and resided, until the cessation of intercourse between the two kingdoms of great Britain and Prussia, in 1806. He was also employed in various temporary missions of great importance to Vienna, Paris and Copenhagen. This long and honourable career of public service, under different Administrations, abundantly proves that the confidence of his Sovereign was justly placed, and bears ample testimony to his diplomatic talents, his private life, his domestic and affectionate habits, and his virtues as a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a friend, will never be obliterated from the memory of his relatives and connections.
– "Mr Jackson",The Morning Post, London, 11 August 1814
| Diplomatic posts | ||
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| Preceded by | Ministerad interim at Madrid 1794–1795 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ambassador to the Ottoman Porte 1796–1799 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by no representation due to theFrench Revolutionary Wars | Minister Plenipotentiaryad interim at Paris 1801–1802 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Berlin 1802–1806 | Succeeded by no representation due to occupation by France |
| Preceded by | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America 1809–1811 | Succeeded by |
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