It is named in honor of Sir Francis Baring, First Lord of the Admiralty.
He met John Robert Godley on 24 November 1849 to discuss educational matters for the proposed settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand, and gave £600 for education as a memorial to Charles Buller, who had died in the previous year.
Francis Bacon | Francis I of France | Francis Ford Coppola | Pope Francis | Connie Francis | Francis I | Francis Poulenc | Francis of Assisi | Francis Drake | Richard Francis Burton | Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor | Francis | Francis Xavier | James Francis Edward Stuart | Francis Scott Key | St. Francis Xavier University | Francis Crick | Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor | Francis Galton | Francis Toye | Francis II | Francis Fukuyama | Francis Collins | Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings | Arlene Francis | Taylor & Francis | St. Francis | Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet | Sabine Baring-Gould | Francis Veber |
Ashburton was named by the surveyor Captain Joseph Thomas of the New Zealand Land Association, after Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton, who was a member of the Canterbury Association.
Sir Francis Baring, chairman of the East India Company, was quick to see the danger.
In 1800 Henry Hope became influential together with his London friend Francis Baring in financing the Louisiana Purchase.