DesBarres, J.F.W.

1721-1824. Swiss born cartographer. Moving to England around 1750, he trained as a military engineer at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. From 1757 until 1773, he was assigned to Canada, serving as aide and military engineer to various British generals About 1762 he was directed to survey Nova Scotia's harbors, a survey that extended down the Atlantic Coast and was published as the Atlantic Neptune. From 1773 to 1784, he was in England overseeing the publication. DesBarres served as the lieutenant governor of Cape Breton Island from 1784 to 1787, and laid out the original plan of the capital, Sydney. He was later governor of Prince Edward Island from 1804 to 1812.