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| baptised = 13 May 1790 | | baptised = 13 May 1790 | ||
| death_date = 25 February 1858 (aged 68) | | death_date = 25 February 1858 (aged 68) | ||
| death_place = [[Chennai|Madras]], [[ | | death_place = [[Chennai|Madras]], [[India]] | ||
| monuments = [[St. George's Cathedral, Chennai|St George's Cathedral, Chennai]] | | monuments = [[St. George's Cathedral, Chennai|St George's Cathedral, Chennai]] | ||
| occupation = Officer in the [[East India Company]] Mercantile Marine | | occupation = Officer in the [[East India Company]] Mercantile Marine | ||
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==Career== | ==Career== | ||
Between 1807 and 1818 Biden completed seven return voyages to India as a mate on the [[East Indiaman]] Royal George. By 1821 he was captain of the [[East Indiaman]] [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (1812 EIC ship)|Princess Charlotte of Wales]]. Between 1821 and 1830 he completed four voyages to India as captain of the Princess Charlotte and one voyage to China as captain of the new Royal George.<ref name=Gateway>{{cite web |title=Biden's ancestral Chennai connect |author=Tim Willasey-Wilsey |url=https://www.gatewayhouse.in/joe-biden-chennai/ |publisher=Gateway House |date=31 August 2020 }}</ref> Biden then spent two years in [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] with his family, publishing a book on naval discipline in 1830.<ref name=Gateway/> In 1832 and 1834 he sailed his own ship on voyages to India. On the second voyage he named [[Nelsons Island|Nelson Island]] in the [[Chagos Archipelago]].<ref name=Gateway/> | Between 1807 and 1818 Biden completed seven return voyages to India as a mate on the [[East Indiaman]] ''Royal George''. By 1821 he was captain of the [[East Indiaman]] [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (1812 EIC ship)|''Princess Charlotte of Wales'']]. Between 1821 and 1830 he completed four voyages to India as captain of the ''Princess Charlotte'' and one voyage to China as captain of the new ''Royal George''.<ref name=Gateway>{{cite web |title=Biden's ancestral Chennai connect |author=Tim Willasey-Wilsey |url=https://www.gatewayhouse.in/joe-biden-chennai/ |publisher=Gateway House |date=31 August 2020 }}</ref> Biden then spent two years in [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] with his family, publishing a book on naval discipline in 1830.<ref name=Gateway/> In 1832 and 1834 he sailed his own ship on voyages to India. On the second voyage he named [[Nelsons Island|Nelson Island]] in the [[Chagos Archipelago]].<ref name=Gateway/> | ||
In 1839 Biden returned to India to take up the position of Master Attendant and Marine Storekeeper at [[Chennai|Madras]]. Whilst at Madras he worked on improving safety for shipping in coastal waters, and was involved in charitable activities.<ref name=Gateway/> He founded the Biden Home for Destitute Seamen at [[Royapuram]].<ref name=Times>{{cite web |title=Joe Biden's roots are in the British Empire |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/joe-bidens-roots-are-in-the-british-empire-dpfgpmrch |author=Ben MacIntyre |work=[[The Times]] |date=15 January 2021}}</ref> | In 1839 Biden returned to India to take up the position of Master Attendant and Marine Storekeeper at [[Chennai|Madras]]. Whilst at Madras he worked on improving safety for shipping in coastal waters, and was involved in charitable activities.<ref name=Gateway/> He founded the Biden Home for Destitute Seamen at [[Royapuram]].<ref name=Times>{{cite web |title=Joe Biden's roots are in the British Empire |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/joe-bidens-roots-are-in-the-british-empire-dpfgpmrch |author=Ben MacIntyre |work=[[The Times]] |date=15 January 2021}}</ref> | ||
==Death== | ==Death== | ||
[[File:Christopher_Biden,_St._George%27s_Cathedral.jpg|thumb|Grave in St. George's Cathedral]] | |||
Biden died at Madras in February 1858 at the age of 68 and is commemorated by a plaque in [[St. George's Cathedral, Chennai|St George's Cathedral]].<ref name=Gateway/> His widow died in London in 1880. He was also survived by two sons and a daughter, another daughter having died on the voyage out to India in 1839.<ref name=Gateway/> | Biden died at Madras in February 1858 at the age of 68 and is commemorated by a plaque in [[St. George's Cathedral, Chennai|St George's Cathedral]].<ref name=Gateway/> His widow died in London in 1880. He was also survived by two sons and a daughter, another daughter having died on the voyage out to India in 1839.<ref name=Gateway/> | ||
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One of Biden's sons, Horatio Biden, joined the [[Madras Army]] and is said to have descendants living in India. In 2020 there was speculation in the media that the Bidens of India might be related to [[Joe Biden]], later [[president of the United States]]. It was suggested that Joe Biden's immigrant ancestor William Biden, who died in [[Baltimore]] in 1849, was Christopher Biden's brother William Henry Biden. However, William Henry Biden is recorded as having died at [[Yangon|Rangoon]] in 1843, so is not the William Biden of Baltimore and any common ancestor of Joe Biden and the Bidens of India would have to be further back than John Biden of Houghton.<ref name=Gateway/> | One of Biden's sons, Horatio Biden, joined the [[Madras Army]] and is said to have descendants living in India. In 2020 there was speculation in the media that the Bidens of India might be related to [[Joe Biden]], later [[president of the United States]]. It was suggested that Joe Biden's immigrant ancestor William Biden, who died in [[Baltimore]] in 1849, was Christopher Biden's brother William Henry Biden. However, William Henry Biden is recorded as having died at [[Yangon|Rangoon]] in 1843, so is not the William Biden of Baltimore and any common ancestor of Joe Biden and the Bidens of India would have to be further back than John Biden of Houghton.<ref name=Gateway/> | ||
Harriott Biden kept a common-place book with newspaper cuttings, letters, etc., relating to her husband's work in Madras. The book is preserved on | Harriott Biden kept a common-place book with newspaper cuttings, letters, etc., relating to her husband's work in Madras. The book is preserved on microfilm at the Centre of South Asian Studies at Cambridge University.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biden papers |url=https://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/archive/papers/item/biden-papers/ |access-date=27 January 2021}}</ref> | ||
==Selected publications== | ==Selected publications== | ||