Royal Navy admiral who destroyed the French fleet at the Nile
Commanding the British fleet as Rear-Admiral of the Blue at Aboukir Bay in August 1798, he destroyed the French fleet that had escorted Napoleon's army to Egypt: the French flagship Orient exploded, and of the 17 French ships engaged only two ships of the line and two frigates escaped.
British Royal Navy officer. Born in 1758 at the rectory of Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, he entered the navy through his uncle Maurice Suckling's influence, served in the West Indies and the Mediterranean, lost the sight of one eye at Calvi in 1794 and his right arm at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797, destroyed the French fleet at Aboukir Bay on 1–3 August 1798, stranding Napoleon's army in Egypt, defeated Denmark at Copenhagen in 1801, and was killed at Trafalgar in 1805.
Career Timeline
- 1794Lost the sight of one eye at Calvi
- 1797Lost his right arm at Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- 1798Destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile
- 1801Defeated Denmark at Copenhagen
- 1805Killed at the Battle of Trafalgar