Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner

The Lord Gardner
Alan Gardner by William Beechey
Born	12 February 1742 Uttoxeter, England
Died	1 January 1809 (1809-02) (aged 66)
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain  Great Britain and Ireland
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1755–1800
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Jamaica Station Leeward Islands Station Cork Station Portsmouth Command
Relations	Alan Gardner (eldest son), Robert Barrie (nephew)
Other work	MP for Plymouth and, later, Westminster.

Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner (12 February 1742 – 1 January 1809), was a British Royal Navy officer and peer of the realm. He was regarded by some as one of the Georgian era's most dashing frigate captains and, ultimately, a respected senior admiral.

Gardner joined the Royal Navy in 1755. Promoted to Captain in 1766, his first command was the fireship HMS Raven. He commanded a number of frigates before being promoted to a ship of the line. In 1782 he commanded a ship at the Battle of the Saintes and in 1786, as Commodore of the Jamaica Station (consisting of HMS Europa and HMS Experiment), he suppressed smuggling in the Gulf of Mexico and ordered detailed hydrographic surveys of Caribbean locations of interest to the Navy. During this time, he commanded and probably mentored future famous officers such as George Vancouver, Peter Puget and Joseph Whidbey.

He became a Member of the Board of Admiralty in 1790 and was appointed commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station in 1793. As Rear Admiral in November 1793, he was the first officer to articulate a growing conviction in the navy that lemons were the best cure for scurvy and, going against prevailing medical opinion, demanded a supply for his ships. The resulting scurvy-free voyage of HMS Suffolk to India was a crucial element in the Admiralty's decision in 1795 to issue lemon juice as a daily ration in the navy – a policy which drastically minimised outbreaks of scurvy. During the Mutiny at Spithead in 1797, Gardner negotiated directly with the mutineers, until he lost his temper, seized a mutineer by the throat and threatened to hang the lot. This nearly led to his own demise at the hands of the mutineers, but cooler heads prevailed.