Admiral John Byng was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to vice-admiral in 1747. He also served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland Colony in 1742, Commander-in-Chief, Leith, 1745 to 1746 and was a member of Parliament from 1751 until his death.
Ranger's House is a medium-sized red brick Georgian mansion in the Palladian style, adjacent to Greenwich Park in the south east of London. It is situated in Blackheath and backs directly onto Greenwich Park. Previously known as Chesterfield House, its current name is associated with the Ranger of Greenwich Park, a royal appointment; the house was the Ranger's official residence for most of the 19th century. It is a Grade I listed building. There is a rose garden behind it, and since 2002 it has housed the Wernher Collection of art.
Thomas Hudson was an English painter, almost exclusively of portraits.
The Battle of Minorca was a naval battle between French and British fleets. It was the opening sea battle of the Seven Years' War in the European theatre. Shortly after the war began British and French squadrons met off the Mediterranean island of Minorca. The French won the battle. The subsequent decision by the British to withdraw to Gibraltar handed France a strategic victory and led directly to the Fall of Minorca.
The Battle of Cape Passaro, also known as Battle of Avola or Battle of Syracuse, was a naval battle fought on 11 August 1718 between a fleet of the British Royal Navy under Admiral Sir George Byng and a fleet of the Spanish Navy under Rear-Admiral Antonio de Gaztañeta. It was fought off Cape Passaro, in the southern tip of Sicily, which Spain had occupied. Spain and Britain were at peace, but Britain was already committed to supporting the ambitions of the Emperor Charles VI in southern Italy.
Admiral Henry Osborn was a British naval officer who served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland. He was a younger son of Sir John Osborn, 2nd Baronet.
Vice-Admiral Temple West was a British naval officer, best known for his role as second-in-command to Admiral John Byng during the Battle of Minorca in 1756.
Admiral George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, PC was a British peer, naval officer and politician.
Isaac Townsend was an admiral in the British Royal Navy and a Member of Parliament.
William Locker was an officer in the Royal Navy, who served with distinction during the eighteenth century. He rose to the rank of captain and held the posts of flag captain and commodore.
The siege of Fort St Philip, also known as the siege of Minorca, took place from 20 April to 29 June 1756 during the Seven Years' War. Ceded to Great Britain in 1714 by Spain following the War of the Spanish Succession, its capture by France threatened the British naval position in the Western Mediterranean and it was returned after the Treaty of Paris (1763).
Lieutenant General Thomas Fowke, also spelt Foulks, circa 1690 to 29 March 1765, was a British military officer from South Staffordshire, who was Governor of Gibraltar from 1753 to 1756, and twice court-martialled during his service. The first followed defeat at Prestonpans in the 1745 Jacobite Rising, when he was acquitted. As Governor, he was tried again for his part in the 1756 Battle of Minorca, a defeat that led to the execution of Admiral Byng.
The Battle of Cartagena took place on 28 February 1758 off the Spanish port of Cartagena during the Seven Years' War. A British fleet under Henry Osborn, which had blockaded a French fleet in Cartagena, attacked and defeated a French force under Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville coming to their assistance.
HMS Monarch was originally the 74-gun ship of the line Monarque of the French Navy launched in March 1747. Captured on 14 October 1747, she was taken into Royal Navy service as the third rate HMS Monarch.
The Flagmen of Lowestoft are a collection of thirteen paintings by Sir Peter Lely, painted in the mid-1660s. They were originally part of the Royal Collections, though most were given to Greenwich Hospital in the nineteenth century, and are now in the National Maritime Museum in London. The paintings are of prominent naval officers, most of them of flag rank, who had fought at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. Lely at the time was Principal Painter to King Charles II.
The Commander-in-Chief, Leith formally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Leith and on the Coast of Scotland was a military commander and formation of the Royal Navy from 1745 to 1825.
Port Mahon Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located at Port Mahon, Menorca, Spain. It was opened in 1708 and in 1802 the port was ceded back to Spain. However a resident commissioner of the Royal Navy was still appointed as late as 1814. The dockyard was administered by the Navy Board and was part of the Mediterranean Fleet.
Portrait of George Cockburn is an 1820 portrait painting by the English artist William Beechey. It depicts the British admiral Sir George Cockburn. Cockburn served for decades in the Royal Navy. In the War of 1812 he commanded British naval forces during the Burning of Washington. In 1815 he was charged with escorting the deposed French emperor Napoleon into exile and British captivity on the Atlantic island of Saint Helena. He later served as First Naval Lord.
Portrait of James, Duke of York is a 1673 portrait painting by the French artist Henri Gascar depicting the future James II of England, then Duke of York. James is portrayed in Baroque style in Roman clothing in the style of Mars, the god of war. He stands in a pavilion with his flagship the Royal Prince in the background. The pageboy on the right was traditionally described as John Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough, although by the time the painting was produced Churchill was an adult and serving on the continent. James was Lord High Admiral during the reign of his brother Charles and had commanded the Royal Navy at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665 and Battle of Solebay in 1672 during the Anglo-Dutch Wars.
Portrait of Augustus Keppel is a 1749 portrait painting by the English artist Joshua Reynolds and depicting the British naval officer Augustus Keppel. The two men met the same year at the artist accompanied Keppel on an expedition to the Mediterranean. He sat for Reynolds at Port Mahon and Minorca is depicted in the background. Visible on the right is a squadron of Royal Navy ships led by the Centurion. In contrast to the more epic style Reynolds would later use for military figures, Keppel is portrayed as "upstanding and admirable, but he is hardly a transcendent hero".
