Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet KCB (25 May 1767 – 14 September 1849), was a British naval officer and commodore-governor of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Life

Hamilton was born the eldest son of John Hamilton, a captain in the Royal Navy who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Quebec in 1775. Charles began his naval career at the age of nine on his father's ship, ''Hector''. He attended the

Royal Naval Academy The Royal Naval Academy was a facility established in 1733 in HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth Dockyard to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardise ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

from 1777 to 1779.O'Byrne He commanded a number of vessels in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and was also a member of the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

several times between 1790 and 1812 while still serving in the

. He became the 2nd baronet Hamilton of Marlborough House on his father's death in 1784. From 1818 to 1823 he served as resident governor for the colony of Newfoundland. During this period, he oversaw the reconstruction of St. John's following fires in 1818 and 1819. Although he was charged with promoting agriculture, he was soon discouraged by the poor soils of the island. The economy of the island was depressed due to decreased demand for Newfoundland

cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...

and Hamilton encouraged diversification of the fisheries to include

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. Hamilton was promoted to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 22 July 1830, and was awarded KCB in 1833. He died at the family home at Iping,

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

in 1849. He had married Henrietta Martha, the daughter of George Drummond, a banker of Stanmore, Middlesex. Their only son, Sir Charles John James Hamilton, 3rd Baronet, also became an Army officer. Lady Hamilton painted a well-known portrait of Demasduit, also called Mary March, a

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people of Canada who lived on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. The Beothuk culture formed around 1500 CE. This may have been ...

woman captured in 1818.

Legacy

Hamilton is the namesake of Hamilton Inlet and, formerly, of the Hamilton River (now the Churchill River), both in Labrador.

References

Sources

External links

Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
1767 births 1849 deaths 1202 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for St Germans Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tyrone constituencies (1801–1922) Governors of Newfoundland Colony Royal Navy admirals UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1807–1812 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Honiton Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath British MPs 1784–1790 {{England-UK-MP-stub

Life

Legacy

See also

References

Sources

External links