George Seymour
Royal Navy admiral of the fleet
Died when: 82 years 125 days (988 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Francis Seymour GCB, GCH, PC (17 September 1787 – 20 January 1870) was a Royal Navy officer.After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, Seymour commanded the third-rate HMS Northumberland under Admiral Sir John Duckworth at the Battle of San Domingo during the Napoleonic Wars.
He also commanded the sloop HMS Kingfisher at the blockade of Rochefort and the fifth-rate HMS Pallas under Admiral Lord Gambier at the Battle of the Basque Roads.
He then saw active service during the War of 1812.Seymour became Third Naval Lord in the Second Peel ministry and went on to be Commander-in-Chief Pacific Station.
In late 1844 the French Admiral Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars entered into a confrontation with Queen Pomare IV of Tahiti and with the English missionary and consul George Pritchard, expelling the consul and establishing a French protectorate over the territory during the Franco-Tahitian War.
This matter became known as the "Pritchard Affair".Seymour handled this matter tactfully and avoided a confrontation with the French Government who had already denounced Thouars' actions.
Seymour later served as Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies Station and then as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.