John Deas Thomson

Sir John Deas Thomson, KCH, FRS, FLS (c.1763 – 21 February 1838) was a British Navy administrator. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Thomson, also a naval administrator. In 1801 he was described as a 'Naval Officer and store-keeper', based in Leith, Scotland. From 1805 to 1829 he was a Navy Commissioner with no special functions in the Navy Office. From May 1805 to May 1806 he was Private Secretary to Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, the First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1820 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was also elected a fellow of the Linnean Society. From 1829 to 1832 he was appointed Accountant-General of the Navy, notably introducing the concept of double-entry bookkeeping to the department. In the latter year he was made a KCH and knighted by the King.