Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport | |
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Lord Bridport
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Born | 2 December 1726 |
Died | 2 May 1814 | (aged 87)
Allegiance | Kingdom of Great Britain |
Service/branch | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1741–1800 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held |
HMS Prince HMS Minerva HMS Africa HMS Robust Channel Fleet |
Battles/wars |
Seven Years' War American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars |
Awards | Knight of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, KB (2 December 1726 – 2 May 1814) was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, and the brother of Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood.
Hood entered the navy in January 1741 and was appointed Lieutenant in HMS Bridgewater in 1746. He was promoted to Commander in 1756 and served as flag captain for Rear Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, first on HMS Prince in the Mediterranean (the flagship of Rear-Admiral Saunders, under whom Hood had served as a lieutenant), then on the frigate HMS Minerva.
In the Seven Years' War Hood fought at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759, and in 1761 Minerva recaptured after a long struggle, the 60-gun HMS Warwick of equal force, which had been captured by the French in 1756. For the remainder of the war, from 1761 to 1763, he was captain of HMS Africa in the Mediterranean.
From this time forward Hood was in continuous employment afloat and ashore. In 1778 he was appointed to HMS Robust and fought at the First Battle of Ushant on 22 July. In the court-martial of Admiral Augustus Keppel that followed the battle, although adverse popular feeling was aroused by the course which Hood took in Keppel's defence, his conduct does not seem to have injured his professional career.