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 ...

officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons 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 becam ...

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 for Great Marlow; 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 14t ...

, 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 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 coast assisting in the blockade of 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 ...

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. 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 northwes ...

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

In 1802, he was sworn of the Privy Council 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 ...

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 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 ...

in Nottinghamshire. 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