Sir John Lindsay as a young naval officer, by Nathaniel Hone.

For other people of this name, see John Lindsay (disambiguation).

Sir John Lindsay (1737-4 June 1788) was a British naval officer of the 18th century, and the father of Dido Elizabeth Belle. Nathaniel Hone (24 April 1718-14 August 1784) was an Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. ... John Lindsay may refer to: John Lindsay, American politician John Lindsay (admiral), father of Dido Elizabeth Belle John de Lindesay, 14th century bishop of Glasgow John Lindsay (cricketer) Category: ... Events 12 February — The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. ... is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Dido Elizabeth Belle with her cousin Elizabeth, detail of a painting by Johann Zoffany Dido Elizabeth Belle (1763?-1804) (or Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay) was an illegitimate daughter of Admiral John Lindsay and an African slave woman. ...

Family

His parents were Sir Alexander Lindsay of Evelick or Evelix (near Dornoch in Easter Ross) and Amelia Murray, daughter of David Murray, 4th Viscount of Stormont and sister to William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield. Location within the British Isles The Royal Burgh of Dornoch is a burgh and seaside resort in Sutherland, Highland, on the east coast of the Scottish Highlands, and the north shore of the Dornoch Firth. ... Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of the administrative county of Ross and Cromarty. ... David Murray, 4th Viscount of Stormont (1665-1731) was a Scottish politician. ... William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (March 2, 1705 - March 20, 1793), was a British judge and politician who reached high office in the House of Lords. ...

John's sister Margaret Lindsay was tutored in painting by Allan Ramsay, with whom (in 1752) she later eloped and married, as his second wife - her parents were alienated from her by the marriage, but her brother John remained loyal to her until her death in 1782. Portrait of David Hume by Allan Ramsay, 1766. ...

Life

Havana

The bombardment of Marro Castle on Havana - Lindsay is being rowed out from the Trent to take command of the Cambridge, right

John joined the navy during the Seven Years' War. He was made a lieutenant in 1756 commanding the fireship Pluto, and as such was present on Sir Edward Hawke's 1757 expedition to blockade Rochefort. On 29 September 1757 he was made captain of the 28 gun frigate HMS Trent from 1757 to 1763) and as such served in the West Indies and in home waters during the war. Trent was present in Sir George Pocock's fleet at the taking of Havana from the Spanish in 1762. During that action, he took over command of the 80 gun HMS Cambridge on 1 July when her commander William Goostrey was killed by rifle fire from the Moro Fort, which he was attempting to capture. For this and ‘many strong proofs of his valour’^[1] shown in the battle he was rewarded with a permanent command of HMS Cambridge, the 70 gun HMS Marlborough or the 74 gun HMS Dragon (it is unknown which he chose, and he was still in the Trent in December 1763) and a knighthood on his return to England (awarded 10 February 1764). Combatants Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Great Britain and its American Colonies Electorate of Hanover Iroquois Confederacy Kingdom of Portugal Electorate of Brunswick Electorate of Hesse-Kassel Philippines Archduchy of Austria Kingdom of France Empire of Russia Kingdom of Sweden Kingdom of Spain Electorate of Saxony Kingdom of Naples and... Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... HMS Pluto is a name (derived from the god Pluto) that has been held by many Royal Navy ships, including: HMS Pluto, launch date unknown, fire ship, commanded by John Lindsay (1756/57) and Robert Faulknor the Younger (April to September 1791) The first HMS Tamar, built as a sloop... Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (February 21, 1705 - October 16, 1781) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Rochefort is a commune in western France, a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. ... is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Captain is a rank or title with various meanings. ... This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... For the bird, see Frigatebird. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Sir George Pocock (March 6, 1706-April 3, 1792) was a British admiral, son of Thomas Pocock, chaplain in the navy, entered the navy under the protection of his maternal uncle, Captain Streynsham Master (1682-1724), in Superbe in 1718. ... This article is about the capital of Cuba. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... The bombardment of Marro Castle on Havana - Lindsay is being rowed out from the Trent to take command of the Cambridge, right HMS Cambridge has been a name held by various Royal Navy ships. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... Six warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Marlborough after the Duke of Marlborough: The second-rate Saint Michael, renamed Marlborough in 1706, fought in the Seven Years War and foundered at sea in 1762. ... The Redoutable being fired upon by the Temeraire at Trafalgar, on the 21th of October 1805, after having fought for more than two hours against Nelsons Victory The Seventy-four was a two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ...

West and East Indies

Lindsay then returned to the West Indies, this time in command of the Tartar, carrying one of John Harrison's chronometers for tests and with Thomas Erskine as one of his midshipmen.[1] He returned to Britain in 1765 and on 19 September 1768 married Mary, daughter of Sir William Milner, though they had no children (at the end of his life, he had 3 illegitimate children - including Dido - by different women). He was MP for Aberdeen Burghs from 1767 to 1768. From August 1769 to March 1772 Lindsay was commodore and commander-in-chief in the East Indies, with his broad pennant flown from the frigate Stag. Whilst away, he was appointed a knight of the Bath (28 June 1770) whilst still a relatively junior sea officer. Sent to secretly investigate dealings between the British East India Company and the Indian nawabs (during which time George Paterson was his Secretary), this made him unpopular with the Company and he was soon recalled. John Harrison John Harrison (March 24, 1693–March 24, 1776) was an English clockmaker, who designed and built the worlds first successful chronometer (maritime clock), one whose accuracy was great enough to allow the determination of longitude over long distances. ... Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine (10 January 1750 - 17 November 1823), Lord Chancellor of England, was the third and youngest son of Henry David Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, and was born in Edinburgh. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Commodore Insignia Rank Pennant Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear-Admiral. ... Commander-in-Chief (in NATO-lingo often C-in-C or CINC pronounced sink) is the commander of all the military forces within a particular region or of all the military forces of a state. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... A broad pennant is a swallow-tailed tapering flag flown from the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of a commodore on board. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... Nawab (Urdu: نواب ) was originally the subadar (provincial governor) or viceroy of a subah (province) or region of the Mughal empire. ...

Ushant

From March to May 1778 he was the very first captain of the first-rate HMS Victory, but was moved to be captain of the 90 gun HMS Prince George when Admiral Keppel decided to raise his flag in Victory (with John Campbell as his flag captain) when she was commissioned in May 1778. He commanded the Prince George in the disastrous Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 and, after giving evidence against Sir Hugh Palliser to the ensuing courts martial, he resigned straight after Keppel and refused to accept any command during Lord Sandwich's administration of the Admiralty, thus missing the American War of Independence. This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Victory is a 104-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built between 1759 and 1765. ... In the British Royal Navy, a second-rate was a ship of the line mounting 90 to 98 guns, typically built with three gun decks. ... Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel (25 April 1725 - 2 October 1786), was a British admiral who held sea commands during the Seven Years War and the War of American Independence. ... A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. ... In the Royal Navy a Captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. ... The Battle of Ushant (or First Battle of Ushant) took place on 27 July 1778 during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Hugh Palliser (22 February 1722 or 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a British naval officer and the Governor of Newfoundland (a Commodore-Governor) from 1764 – 1768. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, 1783, by Sir Thomas Gainsborough For other persons of the same name, see John Montagu. ... The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ...

Later life and death

Sandwich and his successors still appreciated Lindsay's ability, and he became an Admiralty Commissioner between April and December 1783 and then commodore and commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, with HMS Trusty as his flagship. As c-in-c he was present at Naples in June 1784, on June 24 entertaining the king and queen on board his ship. However, soon afterwards his health broke down, forcing him to return to England. He was promoted "rear admiral of the red" on 24 September 1787, but for health reasons held it as an honorary role rather than an active one. He died at Marlborough, on his way from a health trip to Bath, on 4 June 1788, aged fifty-one, and buried in Westminster Abbey. 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Commodore Insignia Rank Pennant Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear-Admiral. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... For other uses see, Naples (disambiguation) and Napoli (disambiguation) Location of the city of Naples (red dot) within Italy. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (January 12, 1751 - January 4, 1825). ... HM Queen Marie Caroline of Naples and Sicily Her Majesty Queen Marie Caroline of Naples and Sicily née Her Imperial & Royal Highness Archduchess Marie Caroline of Austria (13 August 1752- 8 September 1814) was queen consort and de facto ruler of Naples from 1768 to 1799 and from 1799... The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ... During the attack on the first Death Star, this was the fighter group that contained X-wings. ... is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Marlborough on a Wednesday Market morning The town-centre of Marlborough Marlborough (pronounced Maulbruh - /ˈmɔːlbɹə/ in IPA) is a market town in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. ... Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Mansfield family tree

David Murray, 4th Viscount of Stormont (1665-1731) was a Scottish politician. ... David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 7th Viscount Stormont (1727-1796), known before 1793 as Viscount Stormont was a British politician who served as the last Secretary of State for the Northern Department. ... Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, 2nd Earl of Nottingham (July 2, 1647 – January 1, 1730), son of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham. ... William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (March 2, 1705 - March 20, 1793), was a British judge and politician who reached high office in the House of Lords. ... Dido Elizabeth Belle with her cousin Elizabeth, detail of a painting by Johann Zoffany Dido Elizabeth Belle (1763?-1804) (or Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay) was an illegitimate daughter of Admiral John Lindsay and an African slave woman. ...

Notes

1. ^ R. Beatson, Naval and military memoirs of Great Britain, 3 vols. (1790), 2.550

Sources

• R. Beatson, Naval and military memoirs of Great Britain, 3 vols. (1790)
• J. Charnock, ed., Biographia navalis, 6 (1798)
• E. Haden-Guest, ‘Lindsay, John’, Houses of Parliament records, Commons, 1754–90, 3.44
• DNB
• British Library, material on his appointment and some of his correspondence with the East India Company, Add. MS 18020