Nathaniel Day Cochrane ( bapt. 22 November 1780 – 16 November 1844) was a British

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

officer. He was born in

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, the illegitimate son of Paymaster Hon. John Cochrane, third (surviving) son of

Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald (1691 – 31 October 1778) was a Scottish nobleman, army officer and politician. He was Member of Parliament for Renfrewshire, 1722–1727. He served as Commissioner of the Excise for Scotland from 1730 u ...

, and Geneviève Dulan. Nathaniel had a sister, Angelica, a brother, Colonel James Johnson Cochrane of the 3rd Guards, and a half-brother (probably) John Cochrane, a lawyer. This John Cochrane may have been John Cochrane the well-known chess master. Cochrane entered the Navy in 1794 and received a promotion to Lieutenant in 1800. In 1805 he was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and assumed command of . While on the West Indies Station he captured several vessels before bringing news to Sir

John Thomas Duckworth Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 174831 August 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, as the Governor ...

's squadron that three French

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...

had been sighted sailing towards

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 ...

. He was posted with date of seniority of 26 March 1806, on his return to England with the news of the Battle of San Domingo (which his uncle Admiral

Alexander Cochrane Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral. He had previously captain ...

had fought in.) He subsequently commanded the frigates and on the North Sea and Cape of Good Hope stations. In 1812 he took command of the 74-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

ship of the line , and remained her commander until 1814. On 23 November 1841 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue. Rear Admiral Cochrane died on 16 November 1844 at his brother's house at Bathford,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He never married, but had an illegitimate daughter, Emily (born 1825; died a spinster 1919).

References

1780 births 1844 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy rear admirals

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

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