Edward Thonen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 May 1827 Elberfeld, Prussia |
| Died | 3 December 1854 (aged 27) Ballarat, Victoria, Australia |
| Other names | Eduard Thönen |
| Occupation(s) | Clerk, teacher of languages, lemonade seller |
| Years active | 1850–1854 |
| Known for | London diamond robbery, Eureka Rebellion |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Eureka Rebellion |
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Edward Thonen (26 May 1827 – 3 December 1854) was a German emigrant to Australia, and one of the miners involved in the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat, Victoria. He was captain of one of the miners' divisions. When soldiers stormed the Stockade on 3 December 1854 in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, Thonen was one of the first to be killed.
Prior to his emigration to Australia in 1853, Thonen had gained notoriety in England as a jewellery thief.[1]a[2] The story of his capture on a ship off the coast of Wales was widely publicised. It even reached Australia in the 1890s,[2] although no one, at the time, appears to have made the connection between the diamond robbery and the events at Eureka.[3] That connection was only made in 2022, thanks to a collaboration of researchers on the genealogy website WikiTree, whose results were later published by the Ballarat and District Genealogical Society.[3][4]
- ^ "Great Robbery of Diamonds". Morning Post. 10 May 1851. p. 7.
- ^ a b "A Diamond Robber Caught". Riverina Recorder. 10 February 1897. p. 2.
- ^ a b Bamberger, Daniel; Young, Anne (November 2022). "Edward Thonen (1827–1854)". Ballarat Link (214). Ballarat & District Genealogical Society: 10–11.
- ^ Bamberger, Daniel; Young, Anne (2023). Edward Thonen. A forgotten Eureka rebel. Zeitgeschichtliche Sammlung, Zentrum für Stadtgeschichte und Industriekultur Wuppertal.