Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet
Royal Navy Admiral (1730–1806)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Admiral Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet (10 August 1730 – 7 November 1806) was a British naval officer and colonial governor.
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George Best
James Hulkes
Sir Richard King | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the Great Britain Parliament for Rochester | |
| In office 1794–1800 | |
| Preceded by | Nathaniel Smith George Best |
| Succeeded by | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Member of Parliament for Rochester | |
| In office 1801–1802 | |
| Preceded by | Parliament of Great Britain |
| Succeeded by | Sir Sidney Smith James Hulkes |
| Commodore Governor of Newfoundland | |
| In office 1792–1793 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Milbanke |
| Succeeded by | Sir James Wallace |
| Commander-in-Chief, The Downs | |
| In office 1790–1791 | |
| Preceded by | Vacant[c] |
| Succeeded by | Vacant[d] |
| Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth | |
| In office 1794–1796 | |
| Preceded by | Rowland Cotton |
| Succeeded by | Sir Richard Onslow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 August 1730 |
| Died | 7 November 1806 (aged 76) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Great Britain |
Branch |  Royal Navy |
Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | HMS Blaze HMS Grafton HMS Northumberland HMS Pallas HMS Exeter The Downs Plymouth Command |
| Viceregal styles of Sir Richard King | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Reference style | His Excellency |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Naval career
King was born in Gosport, the son of Curtis King and Mary Barnett.
He joined the Royal Navy in 1738 and served on 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 services 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] and was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1793.
He was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester in 1794, holding the seat until 1802.[4] In 1794 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth[5] and in 1795 promoted to Admiral.[1]
Family
In 1769 he married Susannah Margaretta Coker; they had four recorded children including his son Richard.