Houston Stewart


Sir Houston Stewart
Sir Houston Stewart
Born(1791-08-03)3 August 1791
Springkell, near Kirtlebridge, Dumfriesshire
Died10 December 1875(1875-12-10) (aged 84)
Port William, Wigtownshire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1805–1863
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
CommandsHMS Clarence
HMS Podargus
HMS Shark
HMS Royalist
HMS Rifleman
HMS Pique
HMS Salisbury
HMS Menai
HMS Benbow
Malta Dockyard
Devonport Dockyard
North America and West Indies Station
Plymouth Command
Battles / warsNapoleonic Wars
Egyptian–Ottoman War
Crimean War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Houston Stewart, GCB (3 August 1791 – 10 December 1875) was a Royal Navy officer and briefly a Liberal Party Member of Parliament. After serving as a junior officer in the Napoleonic Wars, Stewart became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Benbow in the Mediterranean Fleet and took part in the bombardment of Acre during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. He went on to be Captain-Superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard and then Controller-General of the Coastguard.

Stewart served as Third Naval Lord before entering the House of Commons as Liberal Party Member of Parliament MP for Greenwich. Following his election he became Second Naval Lord in the First Derby Ministry. However, he stayed at the Admiralty for only a few weeks and lost his seat in Parliament at the next general election. He became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard and then second-in-command in the Black Sea taking part in the Siege of Sevastopol and commanding the fleet at the capture of Kinburn during the Crimean War. He went on to be Admiral Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard, then Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station and finally Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.