John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent
| The Earl of St Vincent | |
|---|---|
A young Captain John Jervis by Francis Cotes courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
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| Born | 9 January 1735 Meaford Hall, Staffordshire |
| Died | 14 March 1823 (aged 88) Rochetts, Brentwood, Essex |
| Buried | Stone, Staffordshire |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
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| Years of service | 1749–1807 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands held |
HMS Porcupine |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
HMS Porcupine
HMS Scorpion
HMS Albany
HMS Gosport
HMS Alarm
HMS Kent
HMS Foudroyant
Leeward Islands Station
Mediterranean Fleet
Channel Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC (9 January 1735 – 14 March 1823) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Jervis served throughout the latter half of the 18th century and into the 19th, and was an active commander during the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for his victory at the 1797 Battle of Cape Saint Vincent, from which he earned his titles, and as a patron of Horatio Nelson.
Jervis was also recognised by both political and military contemporaries as a fine administrator and naval reformer. As Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean, between 1795 and 1799 he introduced a series of severe standing orders to avert mutiny. He applied those orders to both seamen and officers alike, a policy that made him a controversial figure. He took his disciplinarian system of command with him when he took command of the Channel Fleet in 1799. In 1801, as First Lord of the Admiralty he introduced a number of reforms that, though unpopular at the time, made the Navy more efficient and more self-sufficient. He introduced innovations including block making machinery at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard. St Vincent was known for his generosity to officers he considered worthy of reward and his swift and often harsh punishment of those he felt deserved it.
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