| Sir Richard King, Bt | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 10, 1730 |
| Died | November 7, 1806 (aged 76) |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Blaze HMS Grafton HMS Northumberland HMS Pallas HMS Exeter The Downs Plymouth Command |
Admiral Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet (10 August 1730 – 7 November 1806) was a British naval officer and colonial governor.
[]
King was born in Gosport, the son of Curtis King and Mary Barnett. He joined the Royal Navy in 1738 and served in HMS Berwick.[1] In 1745 made a lieutenant in HMS Tiger and in 1756 he was promoted to commander of the fireship HMS Blaze.[1] He took part in the capture of Calcutta in 1756 and commanded the landing party at the capture of Hoogly in 1757.[2]
In 1763 he was given command of HMS Grafton and in 1770 he took over HMS Northumberland.[2] He went on to command HMS Pallas from 1778 and HMS Exeter from 1779.[2]
He was knighted in 1782 for his service near Madras, India.[1] Promoted Rear Admiral in 1787, he was appointed commander-in-chief of The Downs in 1790.[1] In 1792 he became a baronet and was made commander-in-chief and governor of Newfoundland.[1] While King was in office France had declared war on Britain and King captured St. Pierre and Miquelon for the British.[1] Promoted Vice-Admiral in 1793, he became Member of Parliament for Rochester the same year.[3] In 1794 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth[4] and in 1795 he was promoted to Admiral.[1]
Family[]
In 1769 he married Susannah Margaretta Coker; they had four recorded children including his son Richard.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sir Richard King at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs }[better source needed] }}
- ↑ Monthly magazine and British register, Volume 22, p. 600
External links[]
The original article can be found at Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet and the edit history here.