Bentham, Sir Samuel

Sir Samuel Bentham, (born Jan. 11, 1757, England—died May 31, 1831, London), British engineer, naval architect, and navy official in Russia (1780–91) and England (from 1795) who was an early advocate of explosive-shell weapons for warships.

Bentham led Russian vessels fitted with shell guns to victory over a larger Turkish force (June 7, 1788). As inspector of naval works in England, he developed the Arrow class of sloops used against France. He was the brother of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham and father of the botanist George Bentham.