Henry Keppel


Sir Henry Keppel
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel
Born(1809-06-14)14 June 1809
Kensington, London
Died17 January 1904(1904-01-17) (aged 94)
Piccadilly, London
Buried
St Mary the Virgin, Winkfield
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1822–1879
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
CommandsHMS Childers
HMS Maeander
HMS St Jean d'Acre
HMS Rodney
HMS Colossus
Cape of Good Hope Station
South East Coast of America Station
China Station
Plymouth Command
Battles / warsFirst Carlist War
First Opium War
Crimean War
Second Opium War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Member of the Order of Merit
Legion of Honour (France)
Order of the Medjidie, 2nd Class (Ottoman Empire)
Spouse(s)Katherine Louisa Crosbie (div)
Jane Elizabeth West

Admiral of the Fleet The Honourable Sir Henry Keppel GCB, OM (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding officer of the corvette HMS Dido on the East Indies and China Station he was deployed in operations during the First Opium War and in operations against Borneo pirates. He later served as commander of the naval brigade besieging Sebastopol during the Crimean War. After becoming second-in-command of the East Indies and China Station, he commanded the British squadron in the action with Chinese pirates at the Battle of Fatshan Creek when he sank around 100 enemy war-junks. He subsequently took part in the capture of Canton during the Second Opium War.

Keppel went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, then Commander-in-Chief, South East Coast of America Station, Commander-in-Chief, China Station and finally Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.