Admiral Arthur William Acland Hood, 1st Baron Hood of Avalon (July 14, 1824 – November 15, 1901), was an officer of the Royal Navy who held command during the Crimean War and later served as First Sea Lord. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... The Crimean War lasted from 28 March 1854 to 1856. ... The First Sea Lord is the senior admiral and professional head of the British Royal Navy. ...

Early life and career

Hood was the younger son of Sir Alexander Hood of St Andries, Somerset, 2nd baronet. His grandfather, Captain Alexander Hood, was killed in action during the French Revolutionary Wars; he fell whilst in command of HMS Mars, in action with the French 74-gun ship Hercule on April 21, 1798. Captain Alexander Hood (April 23, 1758 – April 2, 1798) was an officer of the Royal Navy, one of several members of the Hood family to serve at sea. ... The French Revolutionary Wars occurred between the outbreak of war between the French Revolutionary government and Austria in 1792 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. ... In this painting of the Battle of Trafalgar by Nicholas Pocock, Mars is in the right foreground, just behind the captured Spanish ship Bahama. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

At the age of twelve Hood entered the Royal Navy, and whilst still a boy saw active service on the north coast of Spain, and afterwards on the coast of Syria. After passing through the established course of gunnery on board the Excellent in 1844–1845, he went out to the Cape of Good Hope as gunnery mate of the President, the flagship of Rear Admiral Richard Dacres. On January 9, 1846, Dacres promoted him to lieutenant. As gunnery lieutenant Hood continued in the President till 1849; and in the following year was appointed to the frigate Arethusa , then commissioned for the Mediterranean by Captain William Symonds, afterwards the well-known Admiral of the Fleet. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... The Cape of Good Hope headland seen from the north 1888 Map of the Cape of Good Hope Triangular Postage Stamp The Cape of Good Hope is a headland in South Africa, near Cape Town, traditionally — and incorrectly — regarded as marking the turning point between the Atlantic Ocean and the... January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Admiral of the Fleet is a supreme naval position that has existed both in historical navies and several modern day navies of the 21st century. ...

Service in the Crimean War

The outbreak of the Crimean War made the commission a very long one; and on November 27, 1854 Hood was promoted to Commander in recognition of his service with the naval brigade before Sebastopol. In 1855 he married Fanny Henrietta, daughter of Sir C.F. Maclean. In 1856 he commissioned the brig Acorn for the China station, and arrived in time to take part in the destruction of the junks in Fatshan creek on June 1, 1857, and in the capture of Canton in the following December, for which, in February 1858, he received his commsision as a post-captain. November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Guangzhou (Traditional Chinese: 廣州; Simplified Chinese: 广州; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu; Wade_Giles: Kuang_chou; Jyutping: Gwong2zau1; Yale: Gwóngjaū) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. ... For the Patrick OBrian novel, see Post Captain (novel). ...

The rise to flag rank

From 1862 to 1866 he commanded the Pylades on the North American station, and was then appointed to the command of the Excellent and the government of the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth. This was essentially a gunnery appointment, and on the expiration of three years Hood was made Director of Naval Ordnance. He was thoroughly acquainted with the routine work of the office and the established armament of the Navy, but he had not the power of adapting himself to the changes which were being called for, and still less of initiating them; so that during his period of office the armament of the ships remained sadly behind the general advance. In June 1874 he was appointed to the command of the Monarch in the Channel Fleet, from which he was relieved in March 1876 by his promotion to flag rank. From 1877 to 1879 he was a junior lord of the Admiralty, and from 1880 to 1882 he commanded the Channel Fleet, becoming vice-admiral on July 23, 1880. Crest on the gate of the Royal Naval College The Royal Naval College was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, in the centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site in London, United Kingdom. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

First Sea Lord

In June 1885 he was appointed First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. The intense conservatism of his character, however, and his antagonistic attitude towards every change, regardless of whether it was necessary or not, had much to do with the alarming state of the Navy towards 1889. In that year, on attaining the age of sixty-five, he was placed on the retired list and resigned his post at the Admiralty. The First Sea Lord is the senior admiral and professional head of the British Royal Navy. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ...

Later years

After two years of continued ill-health, he died on the 15th of November 1901, and was buried at Butleigh on the 23rd. He had been promoted to the rank of admiral on the 18th of January 1886; was made KCB in December 1885; GCB in September 1889; and in February 1892 was raised to the peerage as Lord Hood of Avalon, but on his death the title became extinct. KCB is a TLA that may stand for: Keep Chicago Beautiful (kcb. ... GCB may stand for: In philosophy, the greatest conceivable being, used in discussion of ontology. ...

Sir Astley Cooper Key (1821 - March 3, 1888), English admiral, was born in London, and entered the navy in 1833. ... The First Sea Lord is the senior admiral and professional head of the British Royal Navy. ... The First Sea Lord is the senior admiral and professional head of the British Royal Navy. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.