Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Duncombe Pleydell-Bouverie (28 June 1780 – 5 November 1850), was a British naval commander and Whig politician. Pleydell-Bouverie was the second son of

Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor FRS FSA (4 March 1750 – 27 January 1828), styled Hon. Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie from 1761 to 1765 and Viscount Folkestone from 1765 to 1776, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons fr ...

, and the Honourable Anne Duncombe, daughter of

Anthony Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham Anthony Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham (c. 1695 – 18 June 1763), was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 until 1747 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Feversham. Duncombe was the son of Anthony Du ...

William Pleydell-Bouverie, 3rd Earl of Radnor William Pleydell-Bouverie, 3rd Earl of Radnor (11 May 1779 – 9 April 1869), styled Viscount Folkestone until 1828, was the son of Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor and Hon. Anne Duncombe. Career After studying at the University of ...

, was his elder brother. Pleydell-Bouverie served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, entering the Academy at Portsmouth in 1793. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 16 February 1799 and to Commander on 14 February 1801. His first command was HMS ''Penguin'' from 28 August. Bouverie was promoted to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

in on 2 April 1802. He commanded several ships in various duties until being appointed to on 20 February 1806. He held this command for seven years, taking part in the operations in the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

(1806-7) including the blockade and siege of Montevideo. In November 1806, ''Medusa'' apprehended the American trading brig ''Harry and Jane'', and pressed a number of its crew into service with the Royal Navy. Included in these "volunteers" was an English sailor, George Thomas, who was a skilled navigator. Bouverie rapidly promoted him, and he went on to become a distinguished hydrographic surveyor. Bouverie, supported by

Alexander Dalrymple Alexander Dalrymple Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (24 July 1737 – 19 June 1808) was a Scotland, Scottish geographer and the first Hydrographer of the Navy, Hydrographer of the British Admiralty. He was the main proponent of the theory ...

Hydrographer of the Navy The Hydrographer of the Navy is the principal hydrographical Royal Naval appointment. From 1795 until 2001, the post was responsible for the production of charts for the Royal Navy, and around this post grew the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office ...

, published a report with sailing directions for the Río de la Plata based on his own observations and surveys. Upon returning from South America, Bouverie continued to be active in the war with France and Spain, being noted particularly for his actions in support of the anti-French forces in the north of Spain. From 1828 to 1831 he commanded , was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 10 January 1837, and to Vice-Admiral on 9 November 1846. He also sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Downton between 1806 and 1807 and for

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

between 1828 and 1832 and again from 1833 to 1835. He is not recorded as having ever spoken in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. He hoisted his flag in as Port Admiral at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1837. Pleydell-Bouverie married Louisa, daughter of Joseph May, in 1809. He died in November 1850, aged 70.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleydell-Bouverie 1780 births 1850 deaths Younger sons of earls Royal Navy admirals UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies People from Vale of White Horse (district)