Admiral Sir David Milne GCB FRSE (May 1763 – 5 May 1845) was a Scottish

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 ...

admiral.

Life

Milne was born in Musselburgh, Midlothian,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, the son of Susan Vernor and David Milne, an

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

merchant. He entered the

as a midshipman in 1779. He served in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

from 1779 to 1783, seeing action in the Caribbean during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and in Lord Howe's final relief of the French and Spanish siege of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1782. From 1783 to 1793, he served in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

. Promoted to commander, he defeated a French division off

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

on 5 June 1795, and, in 1796, he participated in the capture of the Dutch colonies of

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state ...

, Essequibo and Berbice, becoming the British governor of Netherlands Guiana. He continued to fight against the French 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) , webs ...

, from 1797 to 1799, losing his ship HMS ''Pique'' but capturing the French frigate ''Seine'' at the

action of 30 June 1798 The action of 30 June 1798 was a minor naval engagement fought along the Biscay coast of France during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French Navy had been largely driven from the Atlantic Ocean early in the war following heavy losses in a se ...

and, in 1800, he captured the French frigate ''La Vengeance'' off the coast of Africa. On 14 June 1814, he was promoted to

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. At this time he purchased 10 York Place, Edinburgh, home the late William Craig, Lord Craig. He served as second-in-command of the fleet sent to bombard Algiers in 1816. The Dutch king awarded him the commander's cross of the coveted

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

for his distinguished conduct. In May 1816, he was appointed to command 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 ...

, living in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. In 1818, he was nominated a knight of the Neapolitan Order of St Januarius, and he returned to the United Kingdom in 1819. In 1820, he was briefly Member of Parliament for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

. In 1825 he became a Vice-Admiral. In 1842, 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 ...

. He died at sea 5 May 1845 while returning to Scotland from Plymouth, after more than 60 years' service in the Royal Navy. He is buried with his first wife in the churchyard at

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop o ...

. Memorial reads.

In memory of Admiral Sir DAVID MILNE, G.C.B., &c., &c., &c. For 60 years he served his country in the Royal Navy ; his gallant deeds are recorded in her annals. In all the relations of private life he was upright, exemplary, and esteemed. He expired at sea on the 5th of May 1845, aged 82 years, whilst returning to his native home from Devonport, at which station he had been for the three previous years Commander-in-Chief. Here are deposited the remains of GRACE, wife of Rear-Admiral David Milne, who died at Bordeaux, in France, the 4th of October 1814, where she had gone for the recovery of her health. Her remains were brought to this country by her affectionate husband, and re-interred here the 18th of February 1815. She was eldest daughter of Sir Alexander Purves of Purves, Bart., by Mary Home, daughter of Sir James Home of Coldinghame, Bart., in the County of Berwick. Also a son, named THOMAS, who died in infancy.

Family

In 1799 he bought the house and grounds of Inveresk Gate in

, where his descendants continued to live until the 1940s. He also had a house at 10 York Place in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Stree ...

in the 1830s. n 16 April 1804, he was married to Grace Purves, eldest daughter of Sir Alexander Purves, 5th Baronet, of Purves, by his second wife Mary Home, daughter of Sir James Home, 3rd Baronet, of

Coldingham Coldingham ( sco, Cowjum) is a village and parish in Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwi ...

. Their children included advocate and geologist

David Milne-Home David Milne-Home of Milne Graden FRSE FGS PGSE LLD (1805–1890) was a Scottish advocate, geologist and meteorologist. He was the founder of the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1855, and served as its chairman. From 1874 to 1889 he served as ...

and Admiral of the Fleet

Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Baronet Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Baronet, (10 November 1806 – 29 December 1896) was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain on the North America and West Indies Station he was employed capturing slave-traders and carrying out fis ...

. His wife died at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, in France, on 4 October 1814, where she had gone for the recovery of her health. The admiral brought her body back to Scotland, and she was buried at

in East Lothian on 8 February 1815. On 28 November 1819 he married for a second time, to Agnes Stephen.

Milne Land

Milne Land Milne Land or Milneland is a large island in eastern Greenland. It is the third largest island of Greenland, after the main island of Greenland and Disko Island. It is named after British admiral David Milne. This island is popular among climbe ...

, in East

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

, was named after him by Captain William Scoresby. The island can be found 70.87 N, 25.42 W, sits in the large fjord Scoresby Sund and covers an area of with a highest point of .

References

;Bibliography *

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, David 1763 births 1845 deaths Royal Navy admirals Scottish politicians Scottish sailors Scottish admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Bombardment of Algiers (1816) History of Guyana Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies People who died at sea People from Musselburgh Knights Commander of the Military Order of William UK MPs 1820–1826