born Jan. 11, 1757, England
died May 31, 1831, London
British engineer, naval architect, and navy official.
He was the brother of Jeremy Bentham and father of the botanist George Bentham (1800–84). An early advocate of explosive-shell weapons for warships, Bentham led Russian vessels fitted with shell guns to victory over a larger Turkish force in 1788. In England he developed the Arrow class of sloops used against France. He served as commissioner of the navy (1807–12).