Dixon Denham

Dixon Denham (1 January 1786 – 9 June 1828) was an English soldier, explorer of West Central Africa, and ultimately Governor of Sierra Leone.

Dixon Denham was born at Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London on New Year's Day, 1786, the son of James Denham, a haberdasher, and his wife Eleanor, née Symonds. The youngest of their three sons, Denham was educated at Merchant Taylors' School from 1794 to 1800; on leaving he was articled to a solicitor, but joined the army in 1811.

Initially in the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, and later the 54th Foot, Denham served in the campaigns in Portugal, Spain, France, and Belgium, receiving the Waterloo Medal. Denham was considered a brave soldier, who had carried his wounded commander out of the line of fire at the Battle of Toulouse, and had become a close acquaintance of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he regularly corresponded. At the end of hostilities, Lieutenant Denham served at Cambray and with the occupation of Paris. Placed on half pay in 1818, he travelled for a time in France and Italy. In 1819, Denham entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, as a student, intending to become a staff officer in the Senior Department of the Royal Military College. He attracted the favourable attention of the Commandant of the College, Sir Howard Douglas, but became very bored; 'he was the kind of man who must have adventure or he rots', wrote a friend. Alas, he was also domineering, insecure, jealous, and possessed of a mean streak.

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