Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone

Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet of Shenstone, GCB, ( born December 1, 1781 Almington, Staffordshire, England; † November 13, 1866 ) was a British admiral.

Parker resigned in February 1793 in the British Navy and served on the HSM Orion under Captain John Thomas Duckworth, who did in the Channel Fleet service. He followed Duckworth on the HMS Leviathan, who went to the West Indies, where he was promoted as Lieutenant and the HMS Magicienne took over.

Parker was captain in 1801 and commanded, after he was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1830, in 1832 the British squadron in the Tagus. In 1835 he was appointed Lord of the Admiralty, took over in 1841 but the command of the naval power in China. Together with the land forces under Gough he captured Chusan, Ning -po, Tschapu and forced access to the Yangtze River, and finally appeared in Nanjing, after which the peace was concluded.

Parker Baronet in 1844 and soon after received the command of the fleet in the Mediterranean. In 1850 he forced through a blockade of Greek ports the local government to submit to the demands of Great Britain. After he was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1851, he worked for a time as commander of the port of Devonport and in 1863 admiral of the fleet.

William Parker died on 13 November 1866.