Thomas Brisbane

Sir Thomas Brisbane
Painting of Thomas Brisbane by F. Schenck (1850)
6th Governor of New South Wales
In office
1 December 1821 – 1 December 1825
MonarchGeorge IV
Preceded byLachlan Macquarie
Succeeded byRalph Darling
Personal details
Born(1773-07-23)23 July 1773
Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died27 January 1860(1860-01-27) (aged 86)
Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
RankMajor General
Battles/warsPeninsular War
War of 1812
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order
Army Gold Cross

Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCH, FRS, FRSE (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appointed governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.

A keen astronomer, he built the colony's second observatory and encouraged scientific and agricultural training. Rivals besmirched his reputation and the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Bathurst, recalled Brisbane and his colonial secretary Frederick Goulburn. Brisbane, a new convict settlement, was named in his honour and is now the 3rd largest city in Australia.