Admiral Sir Thomas Rich, 5th Baronet (c.1733 – 6 April 1803) was a British naval officer and Member of Parliament. He was born the eldest son of Sir William Rich, 4th Baronet of Sonning, Berkshire and his wife, Elizabeth Royall. He joined the British

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 commissioned

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 25 March 1758. He succeeded as 5th Baronet on the death of his father on 17 July 1762. In 1763 he commissioned the 6-gun cutter for service in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

until 1766. He was then promoted commander of the 14-gun sloop in March 1769 for service on the

North America Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation (military), formation or Command (military formation), command of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 174 ...

. This was followed by the command in North America of the 24-gun from February 1771 to 1773. In April 1775 he took command of the new 28-gun frigate and sailed to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, where in March 1778 he captured the 16-gun American vessel ''Hope''. The following year they drove a French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

ashore, captured an American

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

laden with tobacco and escorted supplies into the beleaguered port of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, remaining there for several months. Culloden Man of War

After the

Moonlight Battle The Battle of Cape St. Vincent () was a naval battle that took place off the southern coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. In 1779 Spain had joined its ally France, which was allied with the Americans, in ...

of 16 January 1780, when Rodney's fleet captured a number of Spanish vessels off Portugal as

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

, Rich was sent home in command of the captured 70-gun ''Princesa''. He took her out to the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

in November and took part in the

Battle of Fort Royal The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the Anglo-French War on 29 April 1781, between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, ...

on 29 April 1781, returning to England after a difficult voyage in . In 1786 he was asked to recommission the 74-gun guard ship for three years, in 1790 the 74-gun and ''Culloden'' again in 1792. He entered Parliament in 1784 as the member for Marlow, sitting until 1790. He was promoted

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 1 June 1795 and advanced in retirement 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 1 January 1801. He died in Sonning on 6 April 1803. He had married Ann, the daughter and co-heiress of Richard Willis of

Digswell Digswell is a village and former parish in the English county of Hertfordshire which is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. The population of the urban area of Digswell in the 2011 Census was 1,632. Digswell's name may be derived from Deacon's ...

, Hertfordshire. They left no children, and the baronetcy became extinct on his death. Rich however had six illegitimate children with Elizabeth Burt, the daughter of a general. Two of their sons, George Frederick Rich and Charles Rich entered the navy, rising to the ranks of

post captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to di ...

, and serving with Admiral Sir Edward William Campbell Rich Owen, who was the godson of Sir Thomas Rich. Sir Thomas's daughter Grace married Captain Anthony Abdy, while his youngest son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

entered politics and was created a baronet in his own right in 1863.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Thomas, Sir 1730s births 1803 deaths Royal Navy admirals Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 Baronets in the Baronetage of England