Vice-Admiral Lord Mark Robert Kerr (12 November 1776 – 9 September 1840) was an officer of 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 ...

, the third son of

William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian General William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian (13 March 1737 – 4 January 1815) was a British soldier and peer, styled Lord Newbattle until 1767 and Earl of Ancrum from 1767 to 1775. He was buried at St Andrew's parish Church, Farnham, S ...

, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Chichester Fortescue of

Dromisken Dromiskin (historically ''Druminisklin'', from ) is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is situated 10 km south of Dundalk, about 1 km inland from the Irish coast. History The village was home to a monastery for h ...

Biography

Kerr served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

on , Captain Sir

Erasmus Gower Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower (3 December 1742 – 21 June 1814) was a Welsh naval officer and colonial governor. Naval career Gower, aged 13, joined the Royal Navy in 1755 under the patronage of his uncle, Captain John Donkley. He was present at ...

with Lord Macartney in his visit to China in 1792–1794, where he was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

by Gower. He was present at the capture of Minorca in 1798. Captain Kerr was appointed to in September 1804, and a month later he captured several Spanish ships worth more than £14,000. On 2 November 1804,

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

, himself quite ill, wrote to Lord Melville: '...I fear Lord M Kerr is falling into the same complaint s I have I have now got him to the fleet and shall keep an Eye upon him for he is too valuable an Officer and good a Man to be lost for want of care.' In April 1805, Captain Mark Kerr discovered that the French Toulon fleet, sought by Nelson, were in the Atlantic and he passed this information on to Vice-Admiral John Orde, who relayed the message to England. Lord Mark Robert Kerr married on 18 July 1799

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(11 February 1778 – 26 October 1835), third daughter of Randal William Macdonnell, sixth Earl, and Marquess of Antrim; she succeeded him as Countess of Antrim (creation of 1785) in her own right on the death of her elder sister. They had a large family, two of their sons succeeding as fourth and fifth Earls of Antrim.Mrs E. M. Fullerton, "Ker, Marquess of Lothian" in ''

The Scots Peerage ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert ...

'', ed. Sir

James Balfour Paul Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926. Life Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev J ...

, vol. V (Edinburgh, 1908
pp. 482–3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Mark 1776 births 1840 deaths Younger sons of marquesses Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars