John Thomas Duckworth
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Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet (9 February 1747 (Gregorian Calendar) – 31 August 1817) was a British naval officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Born in Leatherhead, Surrey, England, Duckworth was the son of Sarah Johnson and the Rev. Henry Duckworth. He began his naval career in 1759, when he entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant aboard the Princess Royal, based on the West Indies station in 1770; to Commander in 1779; and to Post Captain in 1780.
During the wars with France, Duckworth distinguished himself both in European waters and in the Caribbean. Aboard the Orion (attached to the Channel Fleet), Duckworth saw action in three battles during latter May and early June, 1794, and was one of eighteen Commanders honoured with a gold medal and ribbon and thanks of both Houses of Parliament.
He served as Commodore in Santo Domingo in 1796; Commodore at the taking of Minorca in 1798; Rear-Admiral of the White Squadron in 1799; Commander-in-Chief at Barbados and Leeward Islands, 1800-1802; Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica, 1801-1805. Duckworth was nominated a Knights Companion of the most Honourable Military Order of the Bath in 1801 and installed in 1803. He was also briefly a Colonel of Marines. He succeeded in capturing numerous enemy vessels and was promoted to Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron in 1804 and remained in Jamaica until 1805. In the Battle of San Domingo, Duckworth's fleet defeated that of French Rear-Admiral Leissegues near Santo Domingo, off the coast of Hispaniola.
Upon his return to England, Duckworth was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet but he failed to provide effective support for Dmitry Senyavin's Imperial Russian Navy in the Dardanelles Operation. In 1813 he was created a Baronet, of Topsham in the County of Devon. Duckworth Street in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is named in his honour.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Holloway |
Commodore Governor of Newfoundland 1810-1812 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Goodwin Keats |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New creation |
Baronet (of Topsham) 1813–1817 |
Succeeded by John Thomas Buller Duckworth |
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