Lord John Hay | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Lordjohnhay.jpg) A Vanity Fair caricature of Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay | |
| Born | 23 August 1827 Geneva, Switzerland |
| Died | 4 May 1916 (aged 88) Fulmer, Buckinghamshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1840–1892 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | Plymouth Command First Naval Lord Mediterranean Fleet Channel Squadron HMS Hotspur HMS Odin HMS Forth HMS Wasp |
| Battles / wars | First Opium War Crimean War Second Opium War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Order of the Medjidie, 4th Class (Ottoman Empire) |
| Relations | George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale (father) Nathaniel Lambert (father-in-law) |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Memorial_to_Lord_John_Hay,_Admiral_of_the_Fleet,_Gifford.jpg)
Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay, GCB (23 August 1827 – 4 May 1916) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After seeing action in 1842 during the First Opium War, he went ashore with the Naval Brigade and took part in the defence of Eupatoria in November 1854 and the Siege of Sevastopol in spring 1855 during the Crimean War. He also took part in the Battle of Taku Forts in August 1860 during the Second Opium War. As a politician, he became Member of Parliament for Wick and later for Ripon. He was sent to the Mediterranean in July 1878 to take control of Cyprus and to occupy it in accordance with decisions reached at the Congress of Berlin. In a highly political appointment, he was made First Naval Lord in March 1886 when the Marquis of Ripon became First Lord of the Admiralty but had to stand down just five months later when William Gladstone's Liberal government fell from power in August 1886.