Jonas Hanway

(b. 1712, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England – d. Sept. 5, 1786, 23 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London )

Gender: M

Jonas Hanway (1712-1786) was a traveller and philanthropist. In his youth he was apprenticed to a merchant in Lisbon, and later travelled to Russia, Persia and Central Asia. He published an account of his travels in 1753, entitled Historical Account of British Travel over the Caspian sea, with a Journal of Travels. On his return to England he devoted his life to philanthropy, founding the Marine Society, becoming a governor of the Foundling Hospital and a founder of the Magdalen Hospital. His last efforts were on behalf of child chimney-sweeps. He published seventy-four pamphlets, and died unmarried.

Also known as:

Jonas Hanway

No transcribed letters| show both transcribed and un-transcribed letters in results

Please note that all dates and location information are provisional, initially taken from the library and archive catalogues. As our section editors continue to work through the material we will update our database and the changes will be reflected across the edition.

Browser support: The website works best using the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers on the PC, and only Chrome and Firefox on the Mac.