William Parker, 1st Baronet (of Shenstone Lodge)

Sir William Parker

Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet GCB (born December 1, 1781 in Almington, Staffordshire , England , †  November 13, 1866 ) was a British admiral .

Parker joined the British Navy in February 1793 and served on the HSM Orion under Captain John Thomas Duckworth , who served in the Canal Fleet . He followed Duckworth on the HMS Leviathan , which went to the West Indies , where he was promoted to sea as a lieutenant and took over the HMS Magicienne .

Parker became captain in 1801 and, after being promoted to rear admiral in 1830, commanded the British squadron in the Tagus in 1832 . In 1835 he was appointed Lord of the Admiralty , but in 1841 he took over the supreme command of the maritime power in China . Together with the land troops under Gough , he captured Chusan , Ning-po , and Chapu and forced access to the Yangtze River and finally appeared before Nanjing , whereupon peace was made.

In 1815 he became Companion and in 1834 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath .

Parker was bestowed the hereditary title of Baronet , of Shenstone Lodge in the County of Stafford , on December 18, 1844 , and was soon given supreme command of the Mediterranean Navy . In 1850, by blocking the Greek ports , he forced the local government to submit to Great Britain's demands. After he was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1851 , he served for a time as port commander of Devonport and in 1863 became Admiral of the Fleet .

William Parker died on November 13, 1866, his son William Parker inherited his title of nobility.

literature

• Augustus Phillimore: The Life of Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker from 1781-1866 . Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge 2010, ISBN 978-1-151-85117-8 .