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 vic ...

William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave (27 October 1788 – 24 October 1859) was a British naval commander and politician.

Biography

Waldegrave was the son of

George Waldegrave, 4th Earl Waldegrave George Waldegrave, 4th Earl Waldegrave, PC (23 November 1751 – 22 October 1789) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1774 to 1780. Early life Waldegrave was born on 23 November 1751. He was th ...

and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Laura Waldegrave. His parents were first cousins. He was educated at Eton. In 1802, he became a

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

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 ...

, rising to the ranks of

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 ...

in 1806 and

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in 1809. He fought during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, commanding frigate HMS ''Macedonian'' (which was later captured by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). On his return to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he married Elizabeth Whitbread, the daughter of Samuel Whitbread and took over from his father-in-law's post as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

in 1815. Leaving that post in 1818, Waldegrave then commanded from 1829 to 1832 and from 1839 to 1842 and was created a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1840. He retired from the navy in 1846 as a

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, inherited his childless nephew's titles in 1846 and was married for a second time that year, to Sarah Milward, née Whitear. He was promoted to

in 1858 and died a year later, at age 70. His eldest son, William Waldegrave, Viscount Chewton had died in 1854 and he was succeeded by his grandson,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Ancestry

Citations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waldegrave, William Waldegrave, 8th Earl 1788 births 1859 deaths William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies People educated at Eton College People from Mendip District Royal Navy vice admirals UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs who inherited peerages