Admiral John Elphinstone Erskine (13 July 1806 – 23 June 1887) was a

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 ...

officer and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in the

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from 1865 to 1874.

Background and education

A member of

Clan Erskine Clan Erskine is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Publishe ...

, he was the son of David Erskine, of Cardross,

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, and the great-grandson of the jurist John Erskine. His mother was the Hon. Keith Elphinstone, the daughter of John Elphinstone, 11th Lord Elphinstone.thepeerage.com Admiral John Elphinstone Erskine
/ref> He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth and entered the

in 1819.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
/ref>

Naval career

Erskine's first command was the gunboat on the

Jamaica station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

in 1829. He served in the Mediterranean and was promoted to captain on 28 June 1839. He was the

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

to his cousin, Sir Charles Adam, on the West Indies station. After three years on half-pay from 1845 to 1847 he was appointed senior officer on on the Australian station. Between 25 June and 7 October 1849, he toured

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

, Fiji, the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

, the

Loyalty Islands The Loyalty Islands Province (French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...

and New Caledonia. In 1850 he visited the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

and other islands and published his account of the expeditions in ''Journal of Cruise among the Islands of the Western Pacific in H.M.'s ship'' Havannah in 1853. He also published ''A short account of the Gold Discoveries in Australia'' after touring the Australian goldfields in 1850. Erskine commanded in the Baltic during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

and was present at the Fleet Review of 1856 at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

, England. In January 1857 he was stationed on the Coast of Central America. He was Second-in-Command of the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

from 1859 until 1861. He became a vice-admiral in 1864 and an admiral in 1869.Australian Dictionary of Biography – Erskine, John Elphinstone
/ref>

Political career

At the 1865 general election Erskine was elected

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 o ...

for

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

. He held the seat until 1874. In parliament he was leader of the influential lobby working for the Pacific Islanders Protection Act of 1872. Erskine was also a justice of the peace for Stirlingshire. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and joined the

Aborigines' Protection Society The Aborigines' Protection Society (APS) was an international human rights organisation founded in 1837,
...

after he had experienced naval anti-slavery operations in the West Indies and seen the impact of European penetration into the Pacific Ocean.

Personal life

Erskine died unmarried in June 1887, aged 80.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, John 1806 births 1887 deaths Royal Navy officers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...