Incumbents
- Monarch – George III
- Prime Minister – William Pitt the Younger (Tory)
- Foreign Secretary – Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby (until 11 January) Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave (from 11 January)
| 1805 in the United Kingdom |
| Other years |
| 1803 | 1804 | 1805 | 1806 | 1807 |
| Constituent countries of the United Kingdom |
| England | Ireland | Scotland | Wales |
| Sport |
| 1805 English cricket season |
Events from the year 1805 in the United Kingdom. This is the year of the Battle of Trafalgar.
1805 (MDCCCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 1805th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 805th year of the 2nd millennium, the 5th year of the 19th century, and the 6th year of the 1800s decade. As of the start of 1805, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).
William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne,, was an Anglo-Irish Whig statesman who was the first home secretary in 1782 and then prime minister from 1782 to 1783 during the final months of the American War of Independence. He succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his most notable legacy.
Marquess of Lansdowne is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1784, and held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family. The first Marquess served as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Earl Nelson, of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 November 1805 for the Rev. William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson, one month after the death of his younger brother Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, the famous naval hero of the Napoleonic Wars and victor of the Battle of Trafalgar of 21 October 1805. The title is extant, the present holder being Simon Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson, who has an heir apparent. The family seat of Trafalgar House in Wiltshire was sold in 1948 by Edward Nelson, 5th Earl Nelson.
Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin nomen (name) Horatius, from the Roman gens (clan) Horatia. The modern Italian form is Orazio, the modern Spanish form Horacio. It appears to have been first used in England in 1565, in the Tudor era during which the Italian Renaissance movement had started to influence English culture. The name Horace is another related name from the same Latin source.
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career he was regarded as a dependable officer, and spent several years as Captain of the Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis. However, he is chiefly remembered for his controversial actions following the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805 which resulted in his court-martial. Though he was removed from his sea command, he was retained in the Navy and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the base at Plymouth.
Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk was a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary War, and Napoleonic Wars. While in command of HMS Monmouth he was caught in the Nore Mutiny of 1797 and was the officer selected to relay the demands of the mutineers to George III. He most notably served as third-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in HMS Britannia. He later became Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom and Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.
William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson, 2nd Duke of Bronte, was an Anglican clergyman and an older brother of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson.
Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive battles including the siege of Louisbourg in 1758, when he was 14, and the Battle of the Saintes but is best known as a friend of Lord Nelson and as the commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. He is depicted in the Horatio Hornblower novel, Hornblower and the Hotspur.
Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson, born Thomas Bolton, was the 2nd Earl Nelson.
The Trafalgar Cemetery is a cemetery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Formerly known as the Southport Ditch Cemetery, it occupies a small area of land just to the south of the city walls, in what had been a defensive ditch during the period of Spanish rule of Gibraltar. Although it is named for the Battle of Trafalgar of 21 October 1805, only two victims of the battle are buried there. The remainder of the interments are mostly of those killed in other sea battles or casualties of the yellow fever epidemics that swept Gibraltar between 1804 and 1814. In addition, tombstones were transferred to the Trafalgar Cemetery from St. Jago's Cemetery and Alameda Gardens.
This is a list of events from the year 1805 in Ireland
Events from the year 1737 in Great Britain.
The Reverend Edmund Nelson was a British priest who was Rector of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk and the father of Admiral Horatio Nelson.
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Baker KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He had obtained his own command during the French Revolutionary Wars and was to play a part in bringing about three of the battles of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Copenhagen, the Battle of Trafalgar, and the Battle of Cape Ortegal. He only directly participated in the third, but his actions there, and the capture of the French frigate Didon (1805) beforehand brought him honours and rewards. While towing the Didon to a British port, he and another vessel were sighted by the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, and mistaken as scouts for the Channel Fleet. He therefore turned south to Cadiz, leading to the abandonment of the planned invasion of England, and the destruction of the French fleet at Trafalgar by Horatio Nelson some months later. He rose through the ranks after the end of the wars with France, and was commander of the South America Station during Charles Darwin's voyage aboard HMS Beagle. He eventually died with the rank of vice-admiral in 1845 after a long and distinguished career.
Rear-Admiral Samuel Sutton was an officer in the Royal Navy. He entered the service shortly after the start of the American War of Independence, and spent most of his early career serving with Captain and later Admiral Joshua Rowley. He saw action at several engagements with the French fleets in the West Indies, and ended the war as a lieutenant. Left without active employment by the following years of peace, Sutton briefly returned to service during the Spanish Armament in 1790, but the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 brought him steady work. After serving in a number of ships and being present at Cornwallis's Retreat in 1795, Sutton received command of a sloop, and with it the opportunity to render a service to a member of the French aristocracy, and the future Charles X of France. Promoted for his good service, Sutton served as a flag captain to several admirals, including Horatio Nelson. He briefly commanded HMS Victory, before surrendering her to Thomas Hardy, who would go on to command Victory at Trafalgar, and be present at Nelson's death. Sutton instead took command of a frigate, and in 1804 was involved in a controversial action that saw the capture of three Spanish frigates and the destruction of a fourth. Made wealthy from the spoils, Sutton nevertheless remained in the navy, taking part in the chase of the French fleet to the West Indies in 1805. His health declined during this period, and he went ashore in October that year. He retired from active service, and served as a magistrate and local official for his community, being promoted to rear-admiral in 1821 and dying in 1832.
Horatio Nelson, 3rd Earl Nelson,, was a British politician.
Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet, was a British Royal Navy officer and a scion of the noble House of Grey who served as Master and Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14 and was on active service from 1781 to 1804, serving in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic War. He served as Flag Captain for John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent and later as Flag Captain for King George III on his royal yacht. From 1804 to 1806, he was Commissioner at Sheerness Dockyard, and from 1806 until his death in 1828 he was Commissioner at Portsmouth Dockyard.
Events from the year 1805 in Scotland.