Louis Léon Jacob (11 November 1768 – 14 March 1854) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

admiral. He was born at Tonnay,

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

, was educated at Rochefort, and volunteered from a clerkship in the marine bureau to the navy (1784). He was promoted to ensign in 1793, served as a lieutenant on the ''Ça Ira'' in her fight against a superior British force on 14 March 1795, and was taken prisoner when the ship was captured. After his release, Jacob was appointed to the frigate ''Bellone''. He took part in the

Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island (sometimes called the Battle of Donegal, Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren's Action) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwes ...

and was again taken prisoner when ''Bellone'' surrendered to ''Ethalion''. Jacob later took part in the campaign in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

in 1801, was Captain at Granville (1805), helping ''Piémontaise'' in

Saint-Servan Saint-Servan (often abbreviated as St. Servan; br, Sant-Servan) is a town of western France, in Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants. History In June 1758, during the Seven Ye ...

, capturing two gun-brigs and near Chaussey, and after at

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

(1806). He took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne. He was made a rear admiral in 1812 and in 1814 defended Rochefort. He retired on the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, reentered active service in 1820, was

Governor of Guadeloupe (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office) Note: currently, the prefect is not the true departmental head, which is the President of the General Council. The prefect is merely the representative of the national government. ...

from 1823 to 1826, prepared the expedition against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

(1827), served on the Admiralty Board until 1834, when he became Minister of Marine, and was aide-de-camp to

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

until 1848. He introduced in 1805 a system of

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

s which was long used in the French navy.

References

* French Navy admirals 1768 births 1854 deaths Ministers of Marine and the Colonies French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French colonial governors of Guadeloupe {{Guadeloupe-bio-stub