Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, Baron Elden

Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, Baron Elden

▪ British admiral
born April 25, 1725
died Oct. 2, 1786, Elveden Hall, Suffolk, Eng.
 English admiral and politician whose career as a seagoing commander ended in a controversy of political origin during the American Revolution.

      A sailor from the age of 10, Keppel served actively throughout the Seven Years' War (1756–63). In 1762 he served under Admiral Sir George Pocock in the British expedition that took Havana, and he received £25,000 in prize money as a result. He became a rear admiral in 1762 and vice admiral in 1770.

      Keppel was a member of the House of Commons from 1761 to 1780 and a strong supporter of the Whigs. When he fought against France in 1778 as commander of the western squadron, he believed that the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was then first lord of the Admiralty, would be glad to see his defeat. Sir Hugh Palliser, a member of the Admiralty Board, went to sea with Keppel in a subordinate command, and Keppel believed that the indecisive outcome of his battle against the French (July 27, 1778) off Ushant (a small island near Brittany) was partly due to Palliser's deliberate disregard of his orders. Palliser in return pressed for a court-martial of Keppel by the Admiralty on charges of misconduct and neglect of duty. Recriminations in the press then led to the trial and acquittal of Keppel for neglect of duty and of Palliser for insubordination.

      Although Keppel was discharged from his command in 1779, he became first lord of the Admiralty and was created a viscount in 1782, after American victory in the war had precipitated the fall of Lord North's Tory ministry. Keppel resigned as first sea lord in 1783, however. He never married, and his titles became extinct upon his death.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Augustus Keppel, 1. Viscount Keppel — (* 25. April 1725; † 2. Oktober 1786) war ein britischer Admiral und Politiker. Nach der nicht klar gewonnenen Ersten Schlacht bei Ushant musste er sich vor einem Kriegsgericht verantworten und wurde freigesprochen. Er war jahrzehntelang Mitglied …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Viscount Keppel — Viscount Keppel, of Elveden in the County of Suffolk was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created on 22 April 1782, along with the subsidiary title Baron Elden, for the First Lord of the Admiralty Admiral Augustus Keppel. It became extinct …   Wikipedia

  • American Revolution — the war between Great Britain and its American colonies, 1775 83, by which the colonies won their independence. * * * or United States War of Independence (1775–83) War that won political independence for 13 of Britain s North American colonies,… …   Universalium

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