Augustus Leopold Kuper
| Sir Augustus Kuper | |
|---|---|
Franco-Anglo-Japanese conference on the Semiramis, 2 July 1863. Forefront: French interpreter Blekman, Japanese interpreter. Background (from left to right): Three Japanese governors of Yokohama, Duchesne de Bellecourt, daimyō Sakai-Hida-no-Kami, Colonel Neale (British representative in Japan), Admiral Jaurès, Admiral Kuper
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| Born | 16 August 1809 |
| Died | 28 October 1885 (aged 76) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
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| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
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| Years of service | 1823–1876 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
Pelorous Alligator Calliope Thetis HMS London East Indies and China Station |
| Battles/wars | First Opium War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral Sir Augustus Leopold Kuper GCB (16 August 1809 – 28 October 1885) was a Royal Navy officer known for his commands in the far east.
Kuper, whose ancestry was German, joined the Navy in 1823 as a midshipman. On 20 February 1830 he became a Lieutenant. On 17 October 1831 he was appointed a Lieutenant in Savage, commanded by Lord Edward Russell, on the Irish station. On 9 April 1832 he followed Russell to Nimrod, off the coast of Spain. On 27 August 1833, John Macdougall succeeded Russell, still on the Spain-Portugal station. From 30 March 1836 he was a lieutenant in Minden, commanded by Alexander Renton Sharpe, at Lisbon. Then on 10 July 1837 he moved to Alligator, commanded by James John Gordon Bremer, at Australia, who was involved in founding the settlement at Port Essington.
From 27 July 1839 he was a lieutenant and acting captain of Pelorous. While he was captain Pelorus wrecked on 25 November by a cyclone at Port Essington. There were no casualties and eventually she was refloated. In December 1840 he was promoted to Commander, retroactive to when he took command of Pelorus.
On 5 March 1840 he became Acting Captain in Alligator, and with her he participated in the First Opium War (1840–1842). On 8 June 1841 he received a promotion to Captain and on 14 June he took command of Calliope and participated in the operations that led to the capitulation of Canton, China (now Guangzhou). On 21 January 1842 he was made a Companion of the Bath (CB).
From 3 July 1850 to February 1854 he was Captain in Thetis from her commissioning at Plymouth. He sailed her to the south-east coast of America and then the Pacific. Kuper Island in the Strait of Georgia, off the east coast of Vancouver Island, is named for him after he surveyed the area from 1851-3.
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