Born.1

The youngest of seven children

Baptised in St Olave, Hart Street.2

From the Parish Register :-
"9 / Samuel son of Jeremiah & Alicia Bentham"

Mentioned in Will.3

of Jeremiah Bentham
Described as :-
"my dear sons Jeremy and Samuel"

Executor.3

of the will of Jeremiah Bentham
Joint executors :-
Jeremy Bentham Esquire the son
Sarah Bentham widow the relict
Samuel Bentham Esquire the son
John Sharp Palmer Esquire

Married Maria Sophia FORDYCE in St Clement Danes.8,1,9,10

From the Scots Magazine :-
"General Bentham, Surveyor General of Naval Works, to Miss Sophia Fordyce, daughter of Dr. Fordyce, of Essex street, London"

From Lloyd's Evening Post :-
"Wednesday, General Bentham, Surveyor-General of Naval Works, to Miss Sophia Fordyce, eldest daughter of Dr. Fordyce, of Essex-street"

Information from the Parish Register :-
By licence
Groom - Samuel Bentham Esq of the Parish of St Margaret's bachelor
Bride - Maria Sophia Fordyce of this parish spinster
Witnesses :-
G Fordyce
M Fordyce

Wrote will.4

"By this my last will and testament I Sir Samuel Bentham of  Number 2 Lower Connaught Place in the parish of Paddington ... ..."

Some names mentioned :-
1. "my daughter Sarah Jane Bentham"
2. "my son in law the Marquis de Chesnel"
3. "my wife Mary Sophia Bentham"
4. "my son George Bentham"

Died in London (Lower Connaught Place).1,6

From the Morning Post :-
On the 30th, in Lower Connaught-place, in his 76th year, Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Bentham, K.S.G., late Inspector-General of Naval Works, and Civil Engineer of the Navy."

Signature on Will attested to in Prerogative Court of Canterbury.4

By :-
John Herbert Hoe of Lincoln's Inn Esquire
Gorge Ainslie of 61 Upper Norton Street St Mary le Bon Esquire

Probate in Prerogative Court of Canterbury.4

Executors :-
George Bentham the son
Dame Mary Sophia Bentham the widow the relict

Buried in Paddington Green, St Mary.7

From the Parish Register :-
"Brigd General Sir Samuel Bentham / Lower Connaught Place Paddington / 5 / 75"

Portrait in National Portrait Gallery.5

"Naval Architect
Sitter in 4 portraits
Mechanical Engineer credited with numerous innovations related to naval architecture and artillery. At the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to a shipwright at Woolwich Dockyard. In 1780 he travelled to Russia and was employed by Prince Potemkin. Hired initially as a shipbuilder, Bentham eventually became Inspector-General of Naval Works to improve naval efficiency and economy in Britain. His main endeavour in this role was to increase efficiency and economy. Bentham was successful in this task, introducing pioneering measures to assess the size of the dock basins and minimise the risk of fire in the yards."

ODNB.1

For more information see his entry in the online edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography :-
Catherine Pease-Watkin,
"Bentham, Samuel (1757-1831)",
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Oxford University Press, 2004;
online edn. Oct 2007
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2155