# Benjamin Gonson

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{{Short description|Navy surveyor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name          = Benjamin Gonson
|birth_date    = {{birth year|1525}}
|death_date    = {{dya|1577|1525}}
|image         = 
|caption       = 
|birth_place   = Parish of [St Dunstan-in-the-East](/source/St_Dunstan-in-the-East), [London](/source/London), [England](/source/England)
|death_place   = London, England
|burial_place  = St Dunstan-in-the-East
|nickname      = 
|allegiance    = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of England}}
|service_years = 1540–1577
|rank          = 
|branch        = {{navy|England}}
|commands      = [Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy](/source/Surveyor_of_the_Navy)<br />[Treasurer of the Navy](/source/Treasurer_of_the_Navy)
|unit          = 
|battles       = 
|awards        = 
|relations     = 
|other_work    = 
}}

'''Benjamin Gonson''' (c. 1525–1577) was an English Naval Administrator, and the first [Surveyor of the Royal Navy](/source/Surveyor_of_the_Navy).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ranft|first1=Bryan|title=The Oxford Illustrated History of the Royal Navy|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780198605270|page=32|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bzrya4r-2n8C&q=Admiral+Benjamin+Gonson+Naval+Administrator&pg=PA32|language=en}}</ref> He was a  founding member of England's [Navy Board](/source/Navy_Board) during the [Tudor period](/source/Tudor_period).

==Career==
Benjamin Gonson began his career as a private [shipwright](/source/shipwright). He began his government work when he was appointed to the new [Council of the Marine](/source/Council_of_the_Marine) established by [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII_of_England) on 24 April 1546 as [Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy](/source/Surveyor_of_the_Navy).<ref name=Bennell>{{cite ODNB |last=Bennell |first=John |year=2004 |title=Gonson, William (d. 1544) |id=47400}}</ref> He held this post until 1549 when he was succeeded by Admiral [William Wynter](/source/William_Wynter). On 8 April 1549 he was appointed [Treasurer of Marine Causes](/source/Treasurer_of_the_Navy)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Knighton|first1=C. S.|last2=Loades|first2=David|title=Elizabethan Naval Administration|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317145035|page=516|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K50WDAAAQBAJ&q=Benjamin+Gonson&pg=PA516|language=en}}</ref> which he first held alone (until 18 November 1577), and then jointly with Admiral [John Hawkins](/source/John_Hawkins_(naval_commander)) (until 26 November 1577).

==Personal==
The son of Vice-Admiral [William Gonson](/source/William_Gonson), he followed his father into government service. He married Ursula, daughter of [Anthony Hussey](/source/Anthony_Hussey) (an [Admiralty Court](/source/Admiralty_Court) judge under [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII)) on 8 April 1546.<ref name=Parlt>{{cite web|title='Hussey, Anthony (1496/97-1560), of London', in S.T. Bindoff (ed.), ''The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1509-1558''|author=R.J.W. Swales|publisher=Institute of Historical Research|location=United Kingdom|year=1982|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/hussey-anthony-149697-1560|accessdate=4 November 2016|archive-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107150113/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/hussey-anthony-149697-1560|url-status=dead}}</ref>  He had fourteen children with Ursula all born between the years 1547–67;<ref name=Bennell /> he died in December 1577.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Childs|first1=David|title=Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness|date=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=9781473819924|page=264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwLSAwAAQBAJ&q=Benjamin+Gonson+died+in&pg=PA263|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Admiralty in the 16th century](/source/Admiralty_in_the_16th_century)
*[Navy Board](/source/Navy_Board)
*[Tudor Navy](/source/Tudor_Navy)
*[William Gonson](/source/William_Gonson)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonson, Benjamin}}
Category:1520s births
Category:1577 deaths
Category:16th-century Royal Navy personnel
Category:People from London
Category:People of the Tudor period
Category:Burials at St Dunstan-in-the-East

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Benjamin Gonson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Gonson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Gonson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.