George Seymour (Royal Navy officer)

Sir George Francis Seymour
Sir George Francis Seymour
Born	(1787-09-17)17 September 1787 Berkeley, Gloucestershire
Died	20 January 1870(1870-01-20) (aged 82) Eaton Square, London
Buried at	Holy Trinity Church, Arrow, Warwickshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1797–1868
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Northumberland HMS Kingfisher HMS Aurora HMS Pallas HMS Manilla HMS Fortunée HMS Leonidas HMS Briton Pacific Station (1844–1847) North America and West Indies Station (1851–1853) Portsmouth Command (1856–1859)
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars War of 1812
Awards	Knight Grand Cross Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross Royal Guelphic Order

Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Francis Seymour GCB, GCH, PC (17 September 1787 – 20 January 1870) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, Seymour commanded the third-rate HMS Northumberland under Admiral Sir John Duckworth at the Battle of San Domingo during the Napoleonic Wars. He also commanded the sloop HMS Kingfisher at the blockade of Rochefort and the fifth-rate HMS Pallas under Admiral Lord Gambier at the Battle of the Basque Roads. He then saw active service during the War of 1812.

Seymour became Third Naval Lord in the Second Peel ministry and went on to be Commander-in-Chief Pacific Station. In late 1844 the French Admiral Abel Thouars entered into a confrontation with Queen Pōmare IV of Tahiti and with the English missionary and consul George Pritchard, expelling the consul and establishing a French protectorate over the territory: this matter became known as the "Pritchard Affair". Seymour handled this matter tactfully, and avoided a confrontation with the French Government who had already denounced Thouars' actions. Seymour later served as Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies Station and then as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.