Hugh Clapperton (1788–1827) by G. Manton Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Article
Christopher Fyfe
Clapperton, Hugh (1788–1827), naval officer and traveller in Africa, was born at Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, the youngest son of George Clapperton, a surgeon, and his first wife, the daughter of John Johnstone. His mother died when he was a child, and his father remarried. Feckless (he fathered altogether twenty-one children), negligent of his medical practice, and, as a result, impoverished, his father left him to the charge of a spiteful stepmother who cared only for her own children. His schooling was neglected, and he learned little more than to read and write. Eventually the town schoolmaster gave him lessons in practical mathematics and navigation, and he taught himself to draw....
Article
E. W. L. Keymer
Holditch, Abraham (bap. 1639, d. 1678), naval officer and merchant adventurer, was baptized on 12 May 1639 at Totnes, Devon. He was probably the son of William Holditch (d. 1646?) and his wife, Agnes (bap. 1617), formerly Jakes. He married at ...
Article
J. K. Laughton
revised by Andrew Lambert
Irby, Charles Leonard (1789–1845), naval officer and traveller, born on 9 October 1789, was sixth son of Frederick Irby, second Baron Boston (1749–1825), and his wife, Christiana (d. 9 May 1832), only daughter of Paul Methuen of Corsham House, Wiltshire; he was the brother of ...
Article
J. K. Laughton
revised by Andrew Lambert
Jones, George Matthew (c. 1785–1831), naval officer and traveller, was the son of John Jones, general superintendent of Landguard Fort, Felixstowe, and his wife, Mary, née Roberts; General Sir John Thomas Jones, first baronet, and Lieutenant-General Sir Harry David Jones were his brothers. On 28 April 1802 he was promoted lieutenant in the ...
Article
Mangles, James (1786–1867), naval officer and traveller, was born in Wapping, Middlesex, the son of John Mangles (1759–1837), a ship chandler who invested in the West India Dock Company, and his wife, Harriet Camden. His uncle, James Mangles (1762–1838), was MP for ...
Article
J. K. Laughton
revised by Derek Howse
Raper, Henry (1799–1859), naval officer and writer on navigation, was the eldest son of Admiral Henry Raper (1767–1845) and his wife, formerly a Miss Craig. After attending Charterhouse School he entered the navy in November 1811 on board the Mars, his father's ship. He joined the ...
Article
Sherley [Shirley], Sir Thomas (1564–1633/4), privateer and travel writer, was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Sherley (c. 1542–1612) of Wiston, Sussex, and his wife, Anne Kempe (c.1542–1623), daughter of Sir Thomas Kempe of Olantigh, Kent. Sir Anthony Sherley and Robert Shirley, ...
Article
William Sears Zuill sen.
Somers, Sir George (1554–1610), privateer and colonial adventurer, was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, the son of John Somer (as the name was then spelt) and his wife, Alice (d. 1591). He first comes to notice in 1587 when he used prize money to buy ...
Article
Whetstone, Sir Thomas (1630/31–1668
