Robert Honyman | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1765 |
Died | 31 July 1848 Paris, France |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | Royal Navy |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held |
HMS Garland HMS Topaze HMS Leda HMS Ardent HMS Sceptre HMS Marlborough |
Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
Admiral Robert Honyman (c. 1765 – 31 July 1848) was a Scottish admiral in the British Royal Navy who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and in the Napoleonic Wars. A native of Orkney, he also held office for ten years as a member of parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland.
Honyman was born in about 1765, the oldest son of Patrick Honyman of Graemsay, Orkney. His mother Margaret, a daughter of Patrick Sinclair of Durwin, was his father's second wife. His older half-brother William Honyman, Lord Armadale was a Lord of Justiciary. The family claimed maternal descent from Sir Robert Stewart, an illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland.
He married before 1808 Margaret Henrietta Knight, the granddaughter of Admiral Sir John Knight. They had one son and one daughter.
Honyman joined the Royal Navy in 1782, becoming a midshipman in 1783, and being promoted to Lieutenant in 1790. While serving under Captain Theophilus Jones on HMS Defiance in 1796, he was promoted to Commander, and commanded the sloop Tsiphone in 1797 when she captured the French privateers Le Cerf Volant and Le Prospere. He was promoted to post-captain in December 1798.