Michael Seymour (Royal Navy officer, born 1802)
Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, GCB (3 December 1802 – 23 February 1887), was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
Sir Michael Seymour | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Admiral Seymour | |
| Born | 3 December 1802 |
| Died | 23 February 1887 (aged 84) Horndean, Hampshire, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1813–1870 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Challenger HMS Britannia HMS Powerful HMS Vindictive China Station Portsmouth Command |
| Battles/wars | Crimean War Second Opium War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Naval career
Born the third son of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet,[1] Michael Seymour entered the Royal Navy in 1813.[1] He was made Lieutenant in 1822, Commander in 1824 and was posted Captain in 1826.[1] From 1833 to 1835 he was captain of the survey ship HMS Challenger, and was wrecked in her off the coast of Chile.[1] In 1841 he was given command of HMS Britannia and then of HMS Powerful.[1] In 1845 he took over HMS Vindictive.[1]
From 1851 to 1854 he was Commodore Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard.[1] In 1854 he served under Sir Charles Napier in the Baltic during the Crimean War.[1] He was promoted to Rear-Admiral that same year and, when the Baltic campaign was resumed in 1855 under Admiral the Hon. Richard Dundas, Seymour was second in command.[1]
On 19 February 1856 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station.[1] Flying his flag in HMS Calcutta,[1] he conducted operations arising from the attack on the British coaster Arrow.[1] During the Arrow War in China, he commanded the Battle of the Bogue in November 1856, helped destroy the Chinese fleet in the Battle of Fatshan Creek in June 1857,[1] captured Canton in December,[1] and in 1858 he captured the forts on the Baihe (Hai River),[1] compelling the Chinese government to consent to the Treaty of Tientsin.[1] He was made GCB in 1859.[1] He sat as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Devonport from 1859 to 1863.[1] In 1863 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, a post he held until 1866.[1] He retired in 1870.[1]
Seymour Road in Hong Kong Island was named after him.
Family
In 1829 he married Dorothy Knighton: they had a son and three daughters.[1] He was the uncle of Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, also a British admiral.
Further reading
- O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). . . John Murray – via Wikisource.
References
- Laughton, J. K.. "Seymour, Sir Michael (1802–1887)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25178.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Michael Seymour
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir James Stirling |
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station 1856–1859 |
Succeeded by Sir James Hope |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Erskine Perry and James Wilson |
Member of Parliament for Devonport 1859–1863 With: James Wilson, to August 1859 Sir Arthur William Buller, from August 1859 |
Succeeded by William Ferrand and Sir Arthur William Buller |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir Henry Bruce |
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth 1863–1866 |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas Pasley |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Sir Provo Wallis |
Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom 1876–1887 |
Succeeded by Office abolished (recreated in 1901 with Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bt) |
Authority control  |
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