George King (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir George St Vincent King KCB (15 July 1809 – 18 August 1891) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station.

Sir George King
Vice-Admiral George King with Mōri Takachika and
Mōri Motonori of Chōshū Domain in 1867
(Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives)[1]
Born15 July 1809
Stonehouse, Devon, England
Died18 August 1891 (1891-08-19) (aged 82)
Exeter, Devon, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1822–1877
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Leander
HMS Rodney
HMS St Jean d'Acre
East Indies and China Station
China Station
Battles/warsCrimean War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Early life

King was born on 15 July 1809 at Stonehouse, Devon, the second son of Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King and Sarah Anne née Duckworth.[2] He was educated at Royal Naval College, Portsmouth.[2]

King joined the Royal Navy in 1822.[3] Promoted to captain in 1841, he commanded HMS Leander in the Black Sea during the Crimean War.[3] He commanded HMS Rodney from 1854 and HMS St Jean d'Acre from 1855.[3] In September 1856, HMS St Jean d'Acre took Earl Granville to the coronation of Czar Alexander II at St Petersburg. Earl Granville was leader of the Liberal party in the House of Lords, and head of the British delegation to Alexander II's coronation.[3]

He was appointed commander-in-chief, East Indies and China Station in 1864 and commander-in-chief, China Station in 1865.[3] He retired in 1877 and succeeded his elder brother as the 4th Baronet in 1887.[3]

Family life

King married Lady Caroline Mary Dawson Damer in 1847.[2] He assumed the arms and prefix surname of the Duckworth family from Admiral Sir John Duckworth, his grandfather, in 1888.[4] King died at his home Wear House in Exeter, Devon, on 18 August 1891 aged 82.[2] He was buried in a new vault at Topsham Cemetery, Exeter on 25 August 1891.[5]

Topsham Cemetery and Chapel

References
  1. "The Art of Culinary Diplomacy in the Mid-19th Century: Britain and Japan at the Table". Embassy of Japan in the UK. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. "Obituary – Sir George Duckworth-King, Bart". Illustrated London News. 29 August 1891. p. 6.
  3. William Loney RN
  4. Papers of Admiral Sir John Duckworth
  5. "Funeral of Admiral Sir George Duckworth King". Western Times. 28 August 1891. p. 2.
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