Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet

Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet (c. 1710 – 1776) was a British naval officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station.

"William Burnaby" redirects here. For other uses, see William Burnaby (disambiguation).

Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet
Bornca. 1710
Died1776
Allegiance Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch Royal Navy
RankRear-Admiral
Commands heldHMS Thunder
HMS Lichfield
HMS Jersey
HMS Royal Anne
Jamaica Station

Burnaby was the son of John Burnaby of Kensington.[1] He entered the navy and was promoted to lieutenant in 1732. In August 1741 he was given command of the bomb-ketch HMS Thunder and posted to Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. In 1742 he became captain of the fourth-rate HMS Lichfield.[2]

On his return to England he bought Broughton Hall in Oxfordshire in 1747, was knighted in 1754 and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire for 1755.[2]

On the outbreak of war with France he was given command of the fourth-rate HMS Jersey and then the first-rate HMS Royal Anne and in 1762 promoted to rear-admiral. In 1763 he was back in the West Indies in command of the fourth-rate HMS Dreadnought with orders to protect and exploit local trade. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station in 1763[3] and Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station in 1764.[4] In 1765 he sailed to Belize at the request of the loggers there to protect them from Spanish attacks, drawing up a Civil Law for the colony called Burnaby's Code, which some claim to be the world's first constitution[5] and that has been signed by two women. He returned to England in 1767 and on 31 October 1767 was created a baronet. He was promoted to Vice-admiral of the White on 20 October 1770 and to Vice-admiral of the Red soon afterward.

He died in 1776, and was succeeded by his son Sir William Chaloner Burnaby. He had married twice: firstly Margaret, widow of Tim Donovan of Jamaica (they had the son, William Chaloner, and a daughter, Elizabeth) and secondly Grace, daughter of Drewry Ottley with whom he had six children, including Edward, who followed his father into the Royal Navy.[2] His daughter Charlotte married the MP Josias Du Pré Porcher.

His six times great-grandson is actor Daniel Craig.[6]

References
  1. "Complete baronetage". Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  2. "Burnaby, Sir William (c.1710–1776), naval officer by Kenneth Breen". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64850. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. Schomberg, Issac (1802). Naval Chronology: Or, An Historical Summary of Naval & Maritime Events, from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace: Vol 5. London, England: T. Egerton. p. 238.
  4. Cundall, p. xx
  5. "Burnaby's Code 1765". St Georges Caye,Belize. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022.
  6. "Je m'appelle Bond... James Bond". Genealogy Reviews. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

Sources
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