Sir Herbert Richmond | |
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Master of Downing College, Cambridge | |
In office 1934–1946 | |
Preceded by | Albert Seward |
Succeeded by | Lionel Whitby |
Personal details | |
Born | Beavor Lodge, Hammersmith, England | 15 September 1871
Died | 15 December 1946 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England | (aged 75)
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1885–1931 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands | Imperial Defence College East Indies Squadron Royal Naval College, Greenwich East Indies Station HMS Erin HMS Conqueror HMS Commonwealth HMS Vindictive HMS Furious HMS Dreadnought |
Battles/wars | First World War |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond, KCB, FBA (15 September 1871 – 15 December 1946) was a prominent Royal Navy officer, described as "perhaps the most brilliant naval officer of his generation."[1] He was also a top naval historian, known as the "British Mahan",[2] the leader of the British Royal Navy's intellectual revolution that stressed continuing education especially in naval history as essential to the formation of naval strategy. After serving as a "gadfly" to the British Admiralty, his constructive criticisms causing him to be "denied the role in the formation of policy and the reformations of naval education which his talents warranted",[2] he served as Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History at Cambridge University from 1934 to 1936, and Master of Downing College, Cambridge from 1934 to 1946.