Sir Francis Austen (1774–1865) was a British officer who spent most of his long life on active duty in the Royal Navy, rising to the position of Admiral of the Fleet. In October 1805, as commander of the HMS Canopus, a captured French ship of the line, Austen was temporarily detached from Admiral Nelson's fleet for convoy duty in the Mediterranean, and missed fighting in the Battle of Trafalgar. 1774 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... Royal Navy Insignia Admiral of the Fleet is a rank of the British Royal Navy and many other navies, the equivalent of Fleet Admiral in the United States Navy. ... October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... HMS Canopus was a pre-Dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and laid down on the 4 January 1897, launched 21 June 1898 and completed in December 1899. ... Ships of the line were 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-rated ships in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (September 29, 1758 – October 21, 1805) was a British admiral who won fame as a leading naval commander. ... The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on 21 October 1805, was the most significant naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars and the pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. ...

Austen's rapid early promotions were largely due to the patronage of the powerful Warren Hastings, who was a friend of the Austen family and was alleged to be the actual father of Frank's cousin (and later sister-in-law), Eliza de Feuillide. Warren Hastings (December 6, 1732 - August 22, 1818) was the first governor-general of British India, from 1773 to 1786. ...

Austen was brother to novelist Jane Austen, and likely the model for the character William Price in the novel Mansfield Park. Jane Austen, in a portrait based on one drawn by her sister Cassandra House of Jane Austen (today it is a museum) Jane Austen (December 16, 1775 – July 18, 1817) was a prominent English novelist whose work is considered part of the Western canon. ... Mansfield Park book cover Mansfield Park is a novel by Jane Austen. ...