John Norris (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral of the Fleet John Norris (* 1670/1671; † 13 or June 14, 1749 ) was a British naval officer of the 17th and 18th century, under King George II as his service in the Royal Navy Commander -in- Chief finished.

First years of life

About his first years of life no details are known. Neither his parents nor his place of birth or year were up to determine safe. There was speculation that a John Norris of Speke was born in Lancashire in 1662 who later became Admiral. But "the Norris Papers ," published in 1846 by the Chatham Society, speak of a false assumption. Also unoccupied is the assertion by John Campbell in " Lives of the Admirals ," his ancestors came from a distinguished Irish family. The first evidence was when he on 14 September 1680 servant of Captain Richard Borthwick on the Cloucester Hulk at Woolwich hired. Other masters were later Admiral Cloudesley Shovell and Admiral Edward Russell. After the Battle of Bantry Bay in 1689, he was named for his own particular use in this battle to the Lieutenant on the warship Edgar. From many applications, only the use in the Battle of Vélez -Málaga in 1704 should be mentioned.

Early career

In May In 1699 he married Elizabeth Aylmer, daughter of Admiral Matthew Aylmer, which was conducive to his career. He was knighted in 1705 and rose in 1709 to the rank of admiral. He was, from 1708 until his death a member of Parliament. 1707 he served under Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and participated in the siege of Toulon. Norris was with his flagship HMS Torbay also present, on October 22, 1707 when it came to the so-called Great sorrow from the Isles of Scilly, during which the Royal Navy Shovell and four of his ships, including about 2,000 crew members lost.

Norris, whose nickname "Foul -weather Jack " was, had already been used several times by King George I in the Baltic Sea, around here on behalf of the King to demonstrate the strength of the Kingdom of Great Britain and enforce the trade interests.

Baltic operations

1715 Norris was ordered a fleet to the Baltic to officially escort merchant convoys and at the same time put pressure on the expanding Kingdom of Sweden. He had dealings with Peter I, who offered him to be used as a commander of the Russian Navy, which Norris but refused.

1716 Norris was again used in Nordic waters to prevent the Swedes from conquering the interest of the Jacobites Scotland. He was also active as a mediator and negotiated unsuccessfully in 1717 in Amsterdam by Peter I the political issues between Russia and the Kingdom of Great Britain. After the death of King Charles XII of Sweden in 1718, George I entered into negotiations with Sweden, which the mutual relations should improve. As a result, Norris was used on the Swedish east coast for protection from Russian devastation. The Russians eventually retreated to his native waters, so that Norris sailed back to England.

He was more often again entrusted with the protection of Swedish coasts, most recently 1727. 1737 he was finally appointed Admiral of the Fleet and Commander -in- Chief.

1739 Norris also engaged in social projects and supported Thomas Coram in the founding of a hospital for foundlings.

French invasion

1744 Norris was entrusted with the outer defenses of the British Isles and should be countered with a constant threat of a French invasion. As 1744 is actually an attempted invasion took place, Norris was prepared. However, the invasion was prevented by severe storms, subjected to the high losses to the French and the threat ended first. Norris could be then put in the same year after 54 years of service to retire.

Comments

Literature / Sources

• Dava Sobel: Longitude. The True Story of the Lone Genius Who Solved at the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. Walker Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-8027-7593-4 (EA London 1998). Longitude, the illustrated edition. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem which his time. Berlin -Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-8270-0364-4 (EA Berlin 1999).

• Military person ( UK )
• Admiral of the Fleet ( Royal Navy )
• Knight Bachelor
• Briton
• Person in the Great Northern War
• Born in 1671
• Died in 1749
• Man