David Milne (admiral)

Sir David Milne
Admiral Sir David Milne (George Frederick Clarke, 1828)
Born	May 1763 Musselburgh, East Lothian
Died	5 May 1845 At sea returning to Scotland
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1779–1845
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Plymouth Command
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral Sir David Milne, GCB, RN (May 1763 – 5 May 1845) was a Royal Navy admiral.

Born in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, he entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1779. He served in the West Indies from 1779 to 1783, seeing action in the Caribbean during the American Revolutionary War and in Lord Howe's final relief of the French and Spanish siege of Gibraltar in 1782. From 1783 to 1793, he served in the East Indies. Promoted to commander, he defeated a French division off Puerto Rico on 5 June 1795, and, in 1796, he participated in the capture of the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice, becoming the British governor of Netherlands Guiana. He continued to fight against the French in Santo Domingo, from 1797 to 1799, losing his ship HMS Pique but capturing the French frigate Seine at the Action of 30 June 1798 and, in 1800, he captured the French frigate La Vengeance off the coast of Africa.

On 14 June 1814, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral. He served as second-in-command of the fleet sent to bombard Algiers in 1816. The Dutch king awarded him the commander's cross of the coveted Military Order of William for his distinguished conduct. In May 1816, he was appointed to command the North American Station, living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1818, he was nominated a knight of the Neapolitan Order of St Januarius, and he returned to the United Kingdom in 1819. In 1820, he was briefly Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed.