Burchett's A Complete History of the Most Remarkable Transactions at Sea, along with Thomas Lediard's 1735 The Naval History of England, has become a key source of naval history of that era. Burchett's first wife died in 1713, leaving him with a son and one surviving daughter and a property at Hampstead. He married secondly on 22 July 1721, Margaret Arris, widow of Captain Robert Arris. Following her death in 1740, he married on 10 June 1740, his third wife Isabella Wood, widow of Mr. Wood, and daughter of John Robinson, MP. Later life and legacy Following his retirement with a pension of £800 p.a. Burchett spent his last years at Hampstead, where he died on 2 October 1746. His widow, who died in 1756, received a pension of £100 p.a. Since he held the office of Secretary of the Admiralty, the key administrator of the Royal Navy, longer than any other person and had extensive official correspondence and Admiralty papers that have been preserved, his books and writings are relied upon by maritime and naval war historians. Unlike his predecessor Samuel Pepys, Burchett left no known diary or private papers. He died at age 80 at Hampstead near London. Most of his savings were spent on a collection of about 312 paintings. The "Entire and Genuine Collection of Pictures of Josiah Burchett, Esquire" was auctioned by Christopher Cock from his house in the Great Piazza, Covent Garden on 6–9 April 1747. The sale included works by Kneller, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt and Rubens. Works Burchett, Josiah, A Complete History of the Most Remarkable Transactions at Sea, 1720, London: J. Walthoe. Original edition available at archive.org. Facsimile edition: 1995, Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, . References Bibliography External links 1666 births 1746 deaths British military personnel of the Nine Years' War English naval historians English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies English civil servants British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 English male non-fiction writers