Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer

Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer
Attributed to Jonathan Richardson, c.1692 (NMM)
Born	ca. 1650 Meath, Ireland
Died	18 August 1720(1720-08-18) Queen's House, Greenwich
Buried at	St Alfege Church, Greenwich
Allegiance	England  Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy (1678–1707)  Royal Navy (1707–1720)
Years of service	1678–1699, 1709–1720
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Chatham HMS Date Tree HMS Castle HMS Swann HMS Tiger HMS Charles HMS Swallow HMS Mary HMS Royal Katherine HMS Monck HMS London Greenwich Hospital
Battles/wars	Nine Years' War
Other work	Ranger of Greenwich Park

Admiral of the Fleet Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer (ca. 1650 – 18 August 1720) was an Irish Royal Navy officer. He was one of the captains who sent a letter to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince's response ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688.

Aylmer saw action at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689, at the Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690 and again at the Battle of Barfleur in May 1692 during the Nine Years' War.

Aylmer became Commander-in-Chief of the Navy on 12 November 1709. However, when Aylmer met a French squadron and convoy, he was only able to capture one merchantman and the 56-gun Superbe: the new Harley Ministry used this failure as an excuse to remove him as Commander-in-Chief and did so a few months later. Following the accession of George I and the appointment of the Townshend Ministry, Aylmer was reappointed Commander-in-Chief on 5 November 1714. He was also appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital: in this post he founded the Royal Hospital School for the sons of seamen.

Born the second son of Sir Christopher Aylmer and Margaret Aylmer (née Plunkett), Aylmer served briefly in the Army and then joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in the galley HMS Charles in October 1677 before being promoted to lieutenant in April 1678. Promoted to commander on 19 January 1679, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Chatham and then transferred to the command of the prize ship HMS Date Tree in Summer 1679. He transferred again to the command of the fire ship HMS Castle in the Mediterranean Fleet later in the year, to the command of the fifth-rate HMS Swann on the Coast of Ireland in July 1680 and to the command of the fourth-rate HMS Tiger in the Mediterranean Fleet in January 1682, before becoming commanding officer of the galley HMS Charles in September 1685. Aylmer was a young officer of the “courtier type” who benefited from the patronage of the Duke of Buckingham.