Sir Charles Pole, 1st Baronet

Sir Charles Pole
Charles Morice Pole (John Francis Rigaud, 1781)
Governor of the Bank of England
In office
1820–1822
Preceded byGeorge Dorrien
Succeeded byJohn Bowden
Personal details
Born(1757-01-18)18 January 1757
Died6 September 1830(1830-09-06) (aged 73)
Aldenham Abbey, Hertfordshire
Occupation
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch/service Royal Navy
Years of service1770–1806
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
CommandsHMS Cormorant
HMS Britannia
HMS Hussar
HMS Success
HMS Crown
HMS Melampus
HMS Illustrious
HMS Colossus
Baltic Fleet
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
French Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the siege of Pondicherry in India during the American Revolutionary War. After taking command of the fifth-rate HMS Success he captured and then destroyed the Spanish frigate Santa Catalina in the Strait of Gibraltar in the action of 16 March 1782 later in that War.

After capturing the French privateer Vanneau in June 1793, Pole took part in the siege of Toulon at an early stage of the French Revolutionary Wars. He went on to be governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland and then commanded the Baltic Fleet later in the War. He also served as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty on the Admiralty Board led by Viscount Howick during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1820 to 1822, he served as Governor of the Bank of England.