Valentine Gardner (254)

Valentine Gardner (6 May 1739–c. 1815) was a British navy officer and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society. Likely born in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England, he was commissioned an ensign in the 55th Regiment of Foot, then serving in America, in 1755 and as a lieutenant in 1758. In 1763 he was promoted to the rank of captain and led a raid against the Seneca tribe in New York. He returned to London that same year bearing letters from his superior, General Jeffery Amherst. Gardner spent the next few years between Ireland and America with the regiment. In early 1776 he was commissioned major in the 16th Regiment of Foot. He took part in the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777 and managed the Meschianza held in the city in honor of General William Howe in 1778. He was elected to the London Philosophical Society in 1782. During the final decades of his life he attended Royal Society meetings as a guest and conducted experiments with lenses and balloons. (PI)