George Townshend (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral The Hon. George Townshend (29 October 1716 – August 1769) was a British naval commander.
George Townshend | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 October 1716 |
| Died | August 1769 (aged 52) |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Service/ | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1729–1769 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Tartar HMS Chatham HMS Bedford Jamaica Station |
| Battles/wars | |
| Relations | Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (father) Dorothy Townshend (mother) |
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Townshend was the eldest son of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, and his second wife Dorothy, sister of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole.[1]
Townshend served in the Royal Navy and, having been promoted to post captain on 30 January 1739, he was given command of the third-rate HMS Bedford in 1743 and saw action at the Battle of Toulon in February 1744[2] before commanding British fleet at the Siege of Genoa in 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession.[3] He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station from 1749 to 1752, and having been promoted to rear admiral on 6 January 1755, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station again from 1755 to 1757.[4]
Promoted to vice admiral in February 1757 and to full admiral in 1765, he died in August 1769.[2]
References edit
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1899). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 57. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ a b "George Townshend". Three Decks. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ Lodge pp. 201–202
- ^ Cundall, p. xx
Sources edit
- Cundall, Frank (1915). Historic Jamaica. West India Committee.
- Lodge, Sir Richard (1930). Studies in Eighteenth Century Diplomacy 1740-1748. John Murray.