Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet

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For other people named Richard King, see Richard King (disambiguation).
Sir Richard King, Bt
Born 10 August 1730
Died 7 November 1806
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.

Naval career

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[3] 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.[4] In 1794 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth[5] 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.

See also

References

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External links

Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
1794–1796		 Succeeded by
Sir Richard Onslow
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Rochester
with George Best 1794–1796
Henry Tufton, from 1796
1794–1800		 Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Parliament of Great Britain
 Member of Parliament for Rochester
with Henry Tufton
1801–1802		 Succeeded by
Sir Sidney Smith
James Hulkes
Political offices
Preceded by Commodore Governor of Newfoundland
1792–1793		 Succeeded by
Sir James Wallace
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation Baronet
(of Bellevue)
1792–1806		 Succeeded by
Richard King
  1. ↑ 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. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sir Richard King at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13436. p. 511. 5 July 1792.
  4. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs [self-published source][better source needed]
  5. ↑ Monthly magazine and British register, Volume 22, p. 600
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