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Admiral John Byng
Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to vice-admiral in 1747. He also served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland Colony in 1742, Commander-in-Chief, Leith, 1745 to 1746 and was a member of Parliament from 1751 until his death. Byng failed to relieve a besieged British garrison during the Battle of Minorca at the beginning of the Seven Years' War. He had sailed for Minorca at the head of a hastily assembled fleet of vessels, some of which were in poor condition. In the ensuing battle with a French fleet off the Minorcan coast, he was defeated and the fleet under his command considerably damaged. He then elected to return to Gibraltar to repair his ships. Upon ret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southill, Bedfordshire
Southill is a rural village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England; about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for the civil parish as 1,192. The civil parish includes the villages of Broom and Stanford and the hamlet of Ireland Its eastern fields are on the plain of the River Ivel; its west is hilly. The village centre is located in a close cluster. The principal residence, Southill Park, was one of at least four manors, and was for three generations the home of the local branch of the landed Byng family, the Viscounts Torrington, Navy admirals, by whom it was sold at the end of the 18th century to industrialist Samuel Whitbread. Admiral John Byng is buried in All Saints Church, which is a 14th and 15th century church embellished in 1814. Geography Southill lies about south-west of Biggleswade, south-west of Cambridge and north of London. Landscape The village straddles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commander-in-Chief, Leith
The Leith Station was a military unit of the British Navy administered by the Commander-in-Chief, Leith formally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Leith and on the Coast of Scotland from 1745 to 1825. History Royal Navy forces first began operating from Leith between 1709 and 1713 during the War of the Spanish Succession when the then Lord High Admiral Thomas Herbert ordered a new squadron to Leith Roads naval anchorage which was then placed under the command of the Provost of Edinburgh Sir Patrick Johnston. Leith was initially used as an important port to protect convoys operating between the Orkney islands and Newcastle upon Tyne and to ports on the other side of the North Sea. The station was established in 1745 at the Port of Leith during the time of the French Revolutionary Wars and existed until 1825. The station throughout its existence was under the command of ''Commander-in-Chief, Leith'' who also duel-hatted in the role as Port Admiral, Leith. Commander-in-Chief, L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Colonization Of The Americas
The British colonization of the Americas was the history of establishment of control, settlement, and colonization of the continents of the Americas by England, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ... and, after 1707, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain. Colonization efforts began in the late 16th century with failed attempts by England to establish permanent colonies in the North. The first permanent English colony was established in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Approximately 30,000 Algonquian peoples lived in the region at the time. Over the next several centuries more colonies were established in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Though most British colonies in the Americas eventually gained independence, some colonies h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Captain
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, including its seaworthiness, safety and security, cargo operations, navigation, crew management, and legal compliance, and for the persons and cargo on board. Duties and functions The captain ensures that the ship complies with local and international laws and complies also with company and flag state policies. The captain is ultimately responsible, under the law, for aspects of operation such as the safe navigation of the ship,Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.4. its cleanliness and seaworthiness,Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.5. safe handling of all cargo,Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.7. management of all personnel,Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.7-11. inventory of ship's cash and stores,Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.11-12. an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The Sea has played a central role in the history of Western civilization. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. The Mediterranean Sea e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viscount Torrington
Viscount Torrington is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1721 for the statesman Sir George Byng, 1st Baronet, along with the subsidiary title Baron Byng, of Southill in the County of Bedford, also in the Peerage of Great Britain. He had already been created a baronet, of Wrotham in the County of Kent, in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1715. His eldest son, the second Viscount, represented Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ... and Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency), Bedfordshire in the British House of Commons, House of Commons and later served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1746 to 1747. His younger brother, the third Viscount, was a major-general in the Army. His grandson, the sixth Viscount, was a vice-admira ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position, and did not develop into a hereditary title until much later. In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte . Etymology The word ''viscount'' comes from Old French (Modern French: ), itself from Medieval Latin , accusative of , from Late Latin "deputy" + Latin (originally "companion"; later Roman imperial courtier or trusted appointee, ultimately count). History During the Carolingian Empire, the kings appointed counts to administer provinces and other smaller regions, as governors and military commanders. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, and often took on judicial responsibility. The kings strictly prevented the offices of their coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George I Of Great Britain
George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as the most senior Protestant descendant of his great-grandfather James VI and I. Born in Hanover to Ernest Augustus and Sophia of Hanover, George inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime; he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover in 1708. After the deaths in 1714 of his mother Sophia and his second cousin Anne, Queen of Great Britain, George ascended the British throne as Anne's closest living Protestant relative under the Act of Settlement 1701. Jacobites attempted, but failed, to depose George and replace him with James Francis Edward Stuart, Anne's Catholi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Isle of Man) and the British Overseas Territories. The current monarch is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch and their immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties. As the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the prime minister, which are performed in a non-partisan manner. The sovereign is also able to comment on draft laws which directly affect the monarchy. The monarch is also Head of the British Armed Forces. Though the ultimate executive authority over the government is still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William III Of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrecht, Guelders, and Lordship of Overijssel, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the 1670s, and King of England, Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland, and List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II. He is sometimes informally known as "King Billy" in Ireland and Scotland. His victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is The Twelfth, commemorated by Unionism in the United Kingdom, Unionists, who display Orange Order, orange colours in his honour. He ruled Britain alongside his wife and cousin, Queen Mary II, and popular histories usually refer to their reign as that of "William and Mary". William was the only child of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Admiral Of The Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the Fleet is a five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the Royal Navy formally established in 1688. The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, equivalent to a field marshal in the British Army or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force. Other than honorary appointments no new admirals of the fleet have been named since 1995. History The origins of the rank can be traced back to John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp de Warwick, who was appointed ' Admiral of the King's Southern, Northern and Western Fleets' on 18 July 1360. The appointment gave the command of the English navy to one person for the first time; this evolved into the post of Admiral of the Fleet. In the days of sailing ships the admiral distinctions then used by the Royal Navy included distinctions related to the fleet being divided into three divisions – red, white, or blue. Each division was assigned at least one admiral, who in turn commanded a number of vice-admirals and rear admirals. Whil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince gave Byng a response which ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688. As a captain, Byng saw action at the Battle of Vigo Bay, when the French fleet were defeated, during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a flag officer, he led the bombardment squadron while serving under Admiral Sir George Rooke at the Capture of Gibraltar and then took part in the Battle of Málaga at a later stage in the same war. Byng was sent to the Mediterranean to thwart any attempt by the Spanish to take Sicily. He encountered the Spanish fleet at Naples and, after pursuing i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
