Admiral Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet (10 August 1730 – 7 November 1806) was a British naval officer and colonial governor.

Naval career

King was born in Gosport, the son of Curtis King and Mary Barnett. He joined 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 ...

in 1738 and served on HMS ''Berwick''.Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
/ref> In 1745 made a lieutenant in HMS ''Tiger'' and in 1756 he was promoted to commander of the fireship HMS ''Blaze''. He took part in the capture of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in 1756 and commanded the landing party at the capture of Hoogly in 1757.Sir Richard King at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> In 1763 he was given command of HMS ''Grafton'' and in 1770 he took over HMS ''Northumberland''. He went on to command HMS ''Pallas'' from 1778 and HMS ''Exeter'' from 1779. He was knighted in 1782 for his services near Madras, India. Promoted Rear Admiral in 1787, he was appointed commander-in-chief of The Downs in 1790. In 1792 he became 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 14t ...

and was made commander-in-chief and

Governor of Newfoundland The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the viceregal representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as ...

. While King was in office

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

had declared war on

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and King captured St. Pierre and Miquelon for the British and was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1793. He 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

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

in 1794, holding the seat until 1802. In 1794 he was appointed

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offic ...

Monthly magazine and British register, Volume 22, p. 600
/ref> and in 1795 promoted to Admiral.

Family

In 1769 he married Susannah Margaretta Coker; they had four recorded children including his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Richard 1730 births 1806 deaths Royal Navy admirals Governors of Newfoundland Colony Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802

Naval career

Family

See also

References

External links