Vice-Admiral James Hosken (6 December 1798 – 2 January 1885) was a British naval officer and a pioneer of ocean steam navigation. He joined the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and after more than 20 years of service left to join the merchant navy and serve as captain of the steamships and the . He returned to the Royal Navy to see service during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

Biography

Early naval career

Hosken was born in Plymouth, the son James Hosken (1756-1848), a navy

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

, and Elizabeth Veale (1767-?). He entered the Royal Navy on 23 February 1808, (two months after his 9th birthday). In 1810 he was appointed midshipman aboard , and later served in the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and the North Sea, until the end of the war in 1815. He passed the examination for lieutenant in 1816, but was unable to gain a commission. From 1816 to 1819 he served in the frigate in the West Indies, then spent three years in the Channel serving aboard the brig . From 1824 to 1828 he served as Mate of the

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

cutter ''Scout'', engaged in the suppression of smuggling. Finally, on 9 August 1828, he was appointed lieutenant of the bomb vessel , serving in the Mediterranean under Captain Stephen Lushington. ''Aetna'' was paid off in May 1830, and afterwards he commanded the packet ships ''Princess Elizabeth'' and , sailing to the West Indies and South America. He left the Navy in October 1832.

Merchant captain

Between 1833 and 1836 he was the captain of a merchant ship sailing between Liverpool and South America. In 1837 he devoted himself to the study of the

marine steam engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to their ...

, and towards the end of the year was appointed to the command of the

Great Western Steamship Company The Great Western Steam Ship Company operated the first regular transatlantic steamer service from 1838 until 1846. Related to the Great Western Railway, it was expected to achieve the position that was ultimately secured by the Cunard Line. Th ...

's paddle-wheel steamship . She sailed from Bristol on her maiden voyage on 8 April 1838, and arrived at New York fifteen days later on the 23rd. This represented a dramatic increase in speed, as the average duration of an Atlantic crossing from England to America in a sailing ship was 34 days. Side paddle steamers had brought this down to 17 days, but with experience Hosken brought his average down to 13 days in the sixty-six voyages he made between England and America. In 1844 he was appointed to command of Great Western's , the first iron-hulled screw steamship and at that time the largest ship afloat. She sailed from Liverpool for New York on her maiden voyage in August 1845. However, on the night of 22 September 1846, during her fifth voyage, she ran aground in

Dundrum Bay Dundrum Bay (Old Irish ''Loch Rudraige'') is a bay located next to Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is divided into the Outer Bay, and the almost entirely landlocked Inner Bay. They are separated by the dune systems of Ballykinler to th ...

, Ireland. Weather conditions were poor, and an error on the chart led Hosken to believe that the lighthouse on St. John's Point, at the entrance of the bay, was the

Calf of Man Calf of Man ( gv, Yn Cholloo ) is a island, off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man. It is separated from the Isle of Man by a narrow stretch of water called the Calf Sound. Like the nearby rocky islets of Chicken Rock and Kitterland, it is ...

, which they had passed four hours before. After several months the ship was refloated, but Hosken had no further employment in the merchant service.

Later career

From 1848 to 1849 Hosken served as master attendant and postmaster at

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capita ...

, recently ceded to England. He then returned to the navy and in 1851 he was appointed to command of the despatch vessel in the Mediterranean, and later in the Channel. On 26 September 1853 he was promoted to commander, and during the Baltic campaigns of 1854–55 commanded the hospital ship . At the end of the

he was employed in bringing back troops from the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. In June 1857 he was promoted to captain, and in 1868 was placed on the retired list. He was promoted to rear-admiral in April 1875, and vice-admiral in August 1879, and died at

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along t ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, on 2 January 1885. He is buried in

Arnos Vale Cemetery Arnos Vale Cemetery () (also written Arno's Vale Cemetery), in Arnos Vale, Bristol, England, was established in 1837. Its first burial was in 1839. The cemetery followed a joint-stock model, funded by shareholders. It was laid out as an Arcadi ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. In 1889 Elizabeth Ann, his second wife, published an ''Autobiographical Sketch of the Public Career of Admiral James Hosken''. A portrait of his son Thomas Hosken (b.1831) can be seen in

Merchant Hall The Merchant Hall () is a historic building on The Promenade, Clifton Down, Bristol, England. It was built in 1868 by Richard Shackleton Pope, Thomas Pope and John Bindon and converted after World War II for the Society of Merchant Venturers, ...

, Bristol.

Publications

References