James Bremer
| Sir James Bremer | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 26 September 1786 Portsea, Hampshire, England |
| Died | 14 February 1850 (aged 63) Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1802–1850 |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral of the Blue |
| Commands held | East Indies and China Station |
| Wars |
Napoleonic Wars First Anglo-Burmese War First Anglo-Chinese War |
| Awards |
CB (1815) KCH (1836) KCB (1841) China War Medal (1842) |
| Signature |  |
Sir James John Gordon Bremer, KCB, KCH (26 September 1786 – 14 February 1850) was a British Royal Navy officer. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, First Anglo-Burmese War, and First Anglo-Chinese War. In China, he served twice as commander-in-chief of British forces.
Born in Portsea, Portsmouth, Bremer joined the Royal Naval College as a student in 1797. While serving in the East Indies, he became commander of HMS Rattlesnake in 1807. He was promoted to captain in 1814 and was nominated a CB the following year. After becoming commander of HMS Tamar, he was sent to Melville Island, Australia, in 1824 to establish a colony. Under his leadership, the north coast of Australia from 129° to 135° longitude was claimed as British territory.
Bremer served twice as commander-in-chief of British forces in the First Anglo-Chinese War from 1839 to 1841. During the war, he took formal possession of Hong Kong Island for the United Kingdom in 1841. He was made a KCB the same year. In 1846, he was appointed second-in-command of the Channel Fleet and was superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard from which he retired in 1848. He died in 1850, having risen to the rank of rear-admiral.
Bremer was born on 26 September 1786 in Portsea, Hampshire, England. He was the only son of Royal Navy Lieutenant James Bremer (who went missing in the East Indiaman Halswell off the coast of Dorset, England, on 6 January 1786) and his wife Ann, daughter of Captain James Norman. In 1794, he joined the Royal Navy as a first-class volunteer on board the flagship of HMS Sandwich at the Nore of Rear-Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge, from which he was discharged in June 1795. On 8 October 1797, he became a student of the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth, and re-embarked on 2 April 1802 as a midshipman on board HMS Endymion of Captain Philip Durham. Until July 1805, Bremer served in the flagship of HMS Isis under Vice-Admiral James Gambier and Rear-Admiral Edward Thornbrough, on the Newfoundland and North Sea stations. Shortly after passing his examination, he was appointed sub-lieutenant of the gun-brig HMS Rapid. On 3 August 1805, he became a lieutenant on board HMS Captain as part of William Cornwallis' force in pursuing a French fleet in Brest, France.
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