John Batman

Explorer

Birthday January 21, 1801

Birth Sign Aquarius

Birthplace Australia

DEATH DATE May 6, 1839 (38)

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About

Best remembered as a member of the 19th-century expedition that established a settlement near Australia's Port Phillip Bay that would later become the city of Melbourne, this farmer and businessman signed a treaty with Australian Aboriginals living in the area that is present-day Victoria.

Before fame

In his early twenties, he moved from the Sydney area to Tasmania (then called Van Diemen's Land) to become a grazier (pastoral farmer).

Trivia

In late 1829, he attacked and massacred or captured members of an Aboriginal family.

Family life

His marriage to Elizabeth Callaghan resulted in eight children: seven girls and one boy.

Associated with

He and Hamilton Hume were both Australian explorers of the Nineteenth Century.