X 
George Bent ham, F.R.S. 
himself in that science. Then he travelled to the Crimea, 
visited the naval establishments in the Baltic and the Black 
Sea, and thence went on to Siberia (penetrating to the 
frontiers of China) for the purpose of making himself ac- 
quainted with the mines, foundries, and other great industries 
of that country. Meanwhile he had gained the friendship 
of Prince Potemkin, who, impressed by his genius and ability, 
induced him to enter the service of the Empress Catherine II, 
who gave him a Lieutenant-Coloners commission, without 
requiring him to pass through the subaltern grades of the 
army. In this capacity he was sent to the Crimea, where, 
amongst many other engineering feats, he built a flotilla of 
gun-boats, in command of which (under Prince Potemkin) 
he gained a signal victory over the whole Turkish fleet in 
the Black Sea. For this he received from the Empress the 
cross of St. George, conferring Knighthood, a sword of 
honour, and promotion to the rank of Colonel in command 
of a cavalry regiment in Siberia, which country he re-traversed 
from the Obi to the Amur, engaged chiefly in the construction 
of boats for the navigation of the Siberian rivers. 
After the death of the Empress he returned to England, 
left the Russian service, and entered that of the Admiralty, 
by whom he was commissioned to return to Russia, and 
there superintend the building of some ships for the British 
Navy. Thither he went with his wife and family, including 
George, and remained, till the declaration of war with that 
country required his recall. Finally he rose to be Inspector 
of all our dockyards, in which capacity he introduced a 
multitude of improvements, including steam saw- and other 
mills, the replacement of water-casks in ships by iron tanks ; 
and with Sir Isambard Mark Brunei, whom he brought over 
from the Continent, he constructed the eccentric machinery 
for turning elliptic blocks 1 . 
G. Bentham’s mother was the daughter of Dr. G. Fordyce, 
F.R.S. , an eminent London physician, and lecturer on 
chemistry, author of various works on medicine and agri- 
1 Sir Samuel Bentham’s portrait hangs in Greenwich Hospital. 
