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, ...

Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British

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 ...

officer, diplomat and politician who sat 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. ...

between 1774 and 1807.

Naval career

Born in

Stapleford, Nottinghamshire Stapleford is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England, west of Nottingham. The population at the 2011 census was 15,241. Geography Stapleford lies on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. To ...

, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren (died 1763Stanford University
) of Stapleford and

Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist lies at the heart of the village, not far from the river and next to the Manor House. The original ...

. He entered Emmanuel College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1769, but in 1771 entered the navy as an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

; in 1774 he became member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the Ha ...

; and in 1775 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, the baronetcy held by his ancestors, the Borlases, having become extinct in 1689.
On 12 December 1780, he married Caroline daughter of Lt.-Gen. Sir John Clavering. She died in 1839. His career as a seaman really began in 1777, and two years later he obtained command of a ship. On 23 April 1794, as

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

squadron off the north-west

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 ...

coast assisting in the blockade of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

, Warren and his squadron captured a number of French frigates. In 1795, he commanded one of the two squadrons carrying troops for the

Quiberon expedition The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively r ...

and in 1796 his frigate squadron off Brest is said to have captured or destroyed 220 vessels. In October 1798, a French fleet—carrying 5,000 men—sailed from Brest intending to invade

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The plan was frustrated in no small part due to the squadron under his command during the

action of 12 October 1798 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 northwest ...

off Donegal. Memorial to Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet

In 1802, he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

and sent to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

as ambassador extraordinary, but he did not forsake the sea. In 1806 he captured a large French warship, the ''Marengo'', at the

action of 13 March 1806 The action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought when a British and a French squadron met unexpectedly in the mid-Atlantic. Neither force was aware of the presence of the other prior to the encounter and were pa ...

. He was commander-in-chief on the

North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

from 1807 to 1810. He became an

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, ...

in 1810, and was commander-in-chief on this Station again from 1813 to 1814. While in Halifax he determined the late commander

John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1814, he led a detail of British troops that occupied Havre de Grace and set fire to much of the town, including the home of Commodore John Rodgers.Paullin, ''Commodore John Rodgers:...''(1910)
pp. 279–280 He died on 27 February 1822. His two sons predeceased him. His daughter and heiress, Frances Maria (1784–1837), married George Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon. Their son was

George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon George John Warren Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (22 June 1803 – 31 May 1866), was a British politician. He was one of the last members of parliament for Derbyshire and the first for South Derbyshire. Vernon had a lifetime enthusiasm for ...

. There is a monument to him in

St Mary's Church, Attenborough St. Mary's Church, Attenborough is a parish church in the Church of England in the village of Attenborough, Nottinghamshire. The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as a building of outstanding arc ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. A popular figure in the area of his birth, there are a number of pubs named after him in Nottingham and nearby towns.

Notes

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, John Borlase 1753 births 1822 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars People from Stapleford, Nottinghamshire Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1796–1800 Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars