Major General Colby

Major General Thomas Frederick Colby (1784-1852). Major General Colby belonged to the Colby family of Rhosygilwen, Pembrokeshire. T. F. Colby received his military commission a Second Lieutenant in the corps of Royal Engineers at the age of only seventeen. Only two years later he was severely injured while on a routine inspection in Cornwall; a bursting pistol shattered his hand and left a mark on his forehead that was visible for the rest of his life. This mark can be seen on the bust.
Through Colby's work with the Ordnance Survey he earned a grand reputation and several promotions, eventually becoming Major General in 1846. He was also a member of many institutions including the Astronomical Society; the Board of Longitude; the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; the Geological, Geographical and Statistical Societies of London; the Royal Irish Academy; the Geological Society of Dublin and the University of Aberdeen.
Colby died near Liverpool in 1852, aged sixty-nine.