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William George Fairfax
Sir William George Fairfax (8 March 1739 – 7 November 1813) was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and the progenitor of the Fairfax Baronets. His most notable service was as Admiral Adam Duncan's flag captain on board HMS ''Venerable'' during the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797. Life William was born in Bagshot, the eldest son of Joseph Fairfax of the Horse Guards and Mary Anne. He married firstly Hannah Spears (d.1770) in 1767, and secondly in 1772, Janet Margaret Charters. William was the father of eight children. His daughter, Mary Somerville was a noted science writer and polymath. Career He joined the Royal Navy in 1750 aboard HMS ''Centurion'', under Admiral First Lord Augustus Keppel, later moving to HMS ''Mars'', HMS ''Garland'' and HMS ''Duke''. He was commissioned a lieutenant on 20 December 1757, and later served on HMS ''Eurus'' off North America. He was in reserve between 1760 and 1766 and again between 1769 and 1776 with a brief break aboar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Grimaldi
William Grimaldi (1751–1830) was an English miniature painter. Life Born in the parish of St Leonard's, Shoreditch, on 26 August 1751, he was son of Alexander Grimaldi and Esther Barton his wife, and great-grandson of Alessandro Maria Grimaldi, the heir and representative of the Genoese family of Grimaldi, who had settled in England after the bombardment of Genoa in 1684. Grimaldi was nephew of Thomas Worlidge, to whom in 1764 he was bound apprentice for seven years. He remained with Mrs. Worlidge after his uncle's death, and assisted in the publication in 1768 of Worlidge's ''Antique Gems''. On completing his apprenticeship Grimaldi started life as a miniature-painter, working only in water-colours up to 1785, when he made some essays in enamel painting. From 1777 to 1783 he was in Paris. He attracted the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds, many of whose works, notably his ''Master Bunbury'', Grimaldi copied in miniature; Reynolds recommended him to many persons of distinction, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action Of 17 June 1778
The action of 17 June 1778 also known as the Fight of ''Belle Poule'' and ''Arethusa'' was a minor naval action that took place off the coast of France between British and French frigates. The action was widely celebrated by both France and Great Britain and was the first between the two naval forces during the American Revolutionary War before a formal declaration of war was even announced.Syrett (1998), p.36 Background On 13 June 1778, Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, Admiral Augustus Keppel, with twenty-one ship of the line, ships of the line and three frigates, was dispatched by the British Admiralty, Admiralty to keep watch over the French fleet at Brest, France, Brest; Keppel was to prevent a junction of the Brest and Toulon fleets, more by persuasion if he could since both nations were not at war. The French 26-gun frigate, was on a reconnaissance along with the 26-gun frigate , the corvette , and the Cutter (boat), cutter ''Coureur'', when on 17 June she encountered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Centurion (1732)
HMS ''Centurion'' was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard by Joseph Allin the younger and launched on 6 January 1732. At the time of ''Centurion's'' construction, the 1719 Establishment dictated the dimensions of almost every ship being built. Owing to concerns over the relative sizes of British ships compared to their continental rivals, ''Centurion'' was ordered to be built wider across the beam than the Establishment prescribed. was similarly built to non-Establishment dimensions at the same time.Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p81. Early career ''Centurion'' was commissioned in 1734 under the command of Captain Francis Dansays. She served in the Channel Fleet, and took part in Sir John Norris (Royal Navy officer), John Norris's expedition to Lisbon in 1736, under the command of Captain George Proctor. On the outward voyage she carried John Harrison, who was trialling his first marine timekeeper 'H1'. Proctor died at Lisbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. In Western Europe, the first work to use the term polymathy in its title () was published in 1603 by Johann von Wowern, a Hamburg philosopher. Von Wowern defined polymathy as "knowledge of various matters, drawn from all kinds of studies ... ranging freely through all the fields of the disciplines, as far as the human mind, with unwearied industry, is able to pursue them". Von Wowern lists erudition, literature, philology, philomathy, and polyhistory as synonyms. The earliest recorded use of the term in the English language is from 1624, in the second edition of ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' by Robert Burton; the form ''polymathist'' is slightly older, first appearing in the ''Diatribae upon the first part of the late History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Writer
Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists, and the public. Origins Modern science journalism dates back to ''Digdarshan'' (means showing the direction) that was an educational monthly magazine started publication in 1818 from Srirampore, Bengal, India. ''Digdarshan'' carried articles on different aspects of science, such as plants, steam boat, etc. It was available in Bengali, Hindi and English languages. One of the occasions an article was attributed to a "scientific correspondent" was "A Gale in the Bay of Biscay" by William Crookes which appeared in ''The Times'' on 18 January 1871, page 7. Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) and John Tyndall (1820–1893) were scientists who were greatly involved in journalism and Peter Chalmers Mitchell (1864–1945) was Scientific Correspondent for ''The Times'' from 1918 to 1935.Gristock, J. (2006"J.G. Crowther, Kuhn and Systems of Mediation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse Guards Regiment
In the British Army, the Horse Guards comprised several independent troops raised initially on the three different establishments. In the late 1660s, there were thus three troops in England, one in Ireland, and two in Scotland of which one was ceremonial for attendance of Lord High Commissioner (named after John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton and after John Leslie, 7th Earl of Rothes). In 1707, there were four troops of Horse Guards (the three original English and one Scots), and two troops of Horse Grenadiers. From 1658 to 1788, the Horse Guards existed as independent troops. They were placed on the English establishment in 1661, with the founding of the modern Regular British Army. In 1788, as part of the re-organisation of the British Army, the remaining 1st and 2nd Troops were united with the 1st and 2nd Troops of Horse Grenadier Guards to form, respectively, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Life Guards. Originally, as befitted their role as bodyguards to the Sovereign, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagshot
Bagshot is a town in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. In the past, Bagshot served as an important staging post between London, Southampton and the West Country, evidenced by the original coaching inns still present in the town today. Much of the land surrounding Bagshot is owned by the Ministry of Defence. The village is adjacent to junction 3 of the M3 motorway. Bagshot railway station is on the line between Ascot and Aldershot and train services are run by South Western Railway Bagshot is part of the civil parish of Windlesham, which has a population of 17,000 and also includes the neighbouring village of Lightwater. History The place-name 'Bagshot' is first attested in the Pipe Rolls of 1165, where it appears as ''Bagsheta''. It was the name of a wood, and may have meant 'Bacga's wood'. Recent excavations have shown that settlements of Bagshot date back as far as pre-Roman; before these excavations it was thou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan
Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, KB (1 July 17314 August 1804) was a British admiral who defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown on 11 October 1797. This victory is considered one of the most significant actions in naval history. Life Adam was the second son of Alexander Duncan, Baron of Lundie, Angus, (d. May 1777) Provost of Dundee, and his wife (and first cousin once removed) Helen, daughter of John Haldane of Gleneagles. He was born at Dundee. In 1746, after receiving his education in Dundee, he entered the Royal Navy on board the sloop ''Trial'', under Captain Robert Haldane, with whom, in and afterwards in , he continued until the peace in 1748. In 1749 he was appointed to , then commissioned for service in the Mediterranean, by the Hon. Augustus Keppel (afterwards Viscount Keppel), with whom he was afterwards in on the coast of North America, and was confirmed in the rank of lieutenant on 10 January 1755. Seven Years War In August 1755 he followed K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairfax Baronets
The Fairfax, later Ramsay-Fairfax, later Cameron-Ramsay-Fairfax-Lucy Baronetcy, of The Holmes in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 14 March 1836 for Henry Fairfax, in honour of his father, Vice Admiral Sir William George Fairfax. The second Baronet assumed the additional surname of Ramsay in 1876, which was the maiden name of his maternal grandmother. The third Baronet assumed by Royal Licence the additional surname of Lucy in 1892 after his marriage to Ada Christina Lucy, daughter and heiress of Henry Spencer Lucy. In 1921 he added by Royal licence the additional surname of Cameron, making this quadruple-barrelled name a notable example of the British tradition of concatenated surnames. The sixth Baronet was the husband of Lucinda Lambton, architectural writer, between 1986 and 1989. Charlecote Park in the village of Charlecote in Warwickshire came into the Fairfax family through the marriage of the third Baronet t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Somerville
Mary Somerville (; , formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society. When John Stuart Mill organized a massive petition to Parliament to give women the right to vote, he made sure that the first signature on the petition would be Somerville's. In 1834 she became the first person to be described in print as a 'scientist'. When she died in 1872, ''The Morning Post'' declared in her obituary that "Whatever difficulty we might experience in the middle of the nineteenth century in choosing a king of science, there could be no question whatever as to the queen of science". Somerville College, a college of the University of Oxford, is named after her, reflecting the virtues of liberalism and academic success which the college wished to embody. She is featured on the fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonel Of Marines
Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips (properly called "Bath Stars") below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; Elizabeth II's reign used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force. Etymology The rank of colonel was popularized by the tercios that were employed in the Spanish Army during the 16th and 17th centuries. General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba divided his troops in to ''coronelías'' (meaning "column of soldiers" from the Latin, ''columnella'' or "small column"). These units were led by a ''coronel''. This command structure and its titles were soon adopted as ''colonello'' in early modern Italian and in Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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