View source for Michael Seymour (Royal Navy officer, born 1802)

{{distinguish|text=his father [[Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet]] (1768–1834), also an admiral of the Royal Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name          = Sir Michael Seymour
| image         = Admiral_Sir_Michael_Seymour.jpg
| image_size    = 250
| caption       = Portrait of Admiral Seymour
| birth_date    = {{birth-date|3 December 1802}}
| birth_place   =
| death_date    = {{death-date and age|23 February 1887|3 December 1802}}
| death_place   = [[Horndean]], Hampshire, England
| nickname      =
| allegiance    = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
| branch        = [[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|23px]] [[Royal Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 1813–1870
| rank          = [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]]
| unit          =
| commands      = [[HMS Challenger (1826)|HMS ''Challenger'']]<br />[[HMS Britannia (1820)|HMS ''Britannia'']]<br />[[HMS Powerful (1826)|HMS ''Powerful'']]<br />[[HMS Vindictive (1813)|HMS ''Vindictive'']]<br />[[China Station]]<br />[[Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth|Portsmouth Command]]
| battles       = [[Crimean War]]<br />[[Second Opium War]]
| awards        = [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
| relations     =
| laterwork     =
}}
[[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] '''Sir Michael Seymour''', [[Order of the Bath|GCB]] (3 December 1802 – 23 February 1887) was a [[Royal Navy]] officer who went on to be [[Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth]].
== Naval career ==
Born the third son of Admiral [[Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet]],<ref name=odnb>Laughton, J. K.. "Seymour, Sir Michael (1802–1887)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/25178}}.</ref> Michael Seymour entered the [[Royal Navy]] in 1813.<ref name=odnb/> He was made [[lieutenant (Royal Navy)|lieutenant]] in 1822, [[commander (Royal Navy)|commander]] in 1824 and was posted [[post-captain|captain]] in 1826.<ref name=odnb/> From 1833 to 1835 he was captain of the [[survey ship]] [[HMS Challenger (1826)|HMS ''Challenger'']], and was wrecked in her off the coast of [[Chile]].<ref name=odnb/> In 1841 he was given command of [[HMS Britannia (1820)|HMS ''Britannia'']] and then of [[HMS Powerful (1826)|HMS ''Powerful'']].<ref name=odnb/> In 1845 he took over [[HMS Vindictive (1813)|HMS ''Vindictive'']].<ref name=odnb/>
From 1851 to 1854 he was Commodore Superintendent of [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]].<ref name=odnb/> In 1854 he served under [[Charles John Napier|Sir Charles Napier]] in the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] during the [[Crimean War]].<ref name=odnb/> He was promoted to Rear-Admiral that same year and, when the Baltic campaign was resumed in 1855 under Admiral the Hon. [[Richard Saunders Dundas|Richard Dundas]], Seymour was second in command.<ref name=odnb/>
On 19 February 1856 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the [[East Indies and China Station]].<ref name=odnb/> Flying his flag in [[HMS Calcutta (1831)|HMS ''Calcutta'']],<ref name=odnb/> he conducted operations arising from the attack on the British coaster ''Arrow''.<ref name=odnb/> During the [[Second Opium War|Arrow War]] in China, he commanded the [[Battle of the Bogue (1856)|Battle of the Bogue]] in November 1856, helped destroy the Chinese fleet in the [[Battle of Fatshan Creek]] in June 1857,<ref name=odnb/> [[Battle of Canton (1857)|captured Canton]] in December,<ref name=odnb/> and in 1858 he [[Battle of Taku Forts (1858)|captured the forts on the Baihe (Hai River)]],<ref name=odnb/> compelling the Chinese government to consent to the [[Treaty of Tientsin]].<ref name=odnb/> He was made [[Order of the Bath|GCB]] in 1859.<ref name=odnb/> He sat as a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] Member of Parliament for [[Devonport (UK Parliament constituency)|Devonport]] from 1859 to 1863.<ref name=odnb/> In 1863 he was made [[Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth]], a post he held until 1866.<ref name=odnb/> He retired in 1870.<ref name=odnb/>
Seymour Road in [[Hong Kong Island]] was named after him.
== Family ==
In 1829 he married Dorothy Knighton: they had a son and three daughters.<ref name=odnb/> He was the uncle of Sir [[Edward Hobart Seymour]], also a British admiral.
==Art work==
<gallery>
File:1846 July 30, to New York from Raritan River LCCN2005693021.jpg|''1846 July 30, to New York from Raritan River''
File:Michael Seymour - Approaching La Guaira, Venezuela.jpg|''Approaching La Guaira, Venezuela''
</gallery>
== Further reading ==
* {{citation |first=Colin |last=Narbeth |title=Admiral Seymour's Expedition & Taku Forts 1900 |year=1980 |publisher=Picton Publishing}}
* {{cite wikisource |first=William Richard |last=O'Byrne |chapter=Seymour, Michael |title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |year=1849 |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commons category|Michael Seymour}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | sir-michael-seymour | Michael Seymour }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[[East Indies and China Station|Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station]] | years=1856–1859 | before=[[James Stirling (Australian governor)|Sir James Stirling]] | after=[[James Hope (Royal Navy officer)|Sir James Hope]]}}
|-
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
| title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Devonport (UK Parliament constituency)|Devonport]]
| with   = [[James Wilson (UK politician)|James Wilson]], to August 1859
| with2  = Sir [[Arthur William Buller]], from August 1859
| years  = [[1859 United Kingdom general election|1859]]–1863
| before = [[Thomas Erskine Perry]] and <br />[[James Wilson (UK politician)|James Wilson]]
| after  = [[William Ferrand]] and <br />Sir [[Arthur William Buller]]
}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[[Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth]] | years=1863–1866 | before=[[Henry Bruce (Royal Navy officer, born 1792)|Sir Henry Bruce]] | after=[[Sir Thomas Sabine Pasley, 2nd Baronet|Sir Thomas Pasley]]}}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Provo Wallis|Sir Provo Wallis]]}}
{{s-ttl
| title=[[Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom]]
| years=1876–1887
}}
{{s-non | reason=Office abolished<br /><small>(recreated in 1901 with<br />[[Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Baronet|Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bt]])</small>}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Michael}}
[[Category:1802 births]]
[[Category:1887 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Royal Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War]]
[[Category:Seymour family|Michael Seymour]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1859–1865]]
[[Category:Younger sons of baronets]]