Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone

Sir William Parker, Bt
Portrait of Admiral Sir William Parker
Born	(1781-12-01)1 December 1781 Almington, Staffordshire, England
Died	13 November 1866(1866-11-13) (aged 84) Shenstone Lodge, Staffordshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1793–1857
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Stork HMS Alarm HMS Amazon HMS Warspite HMS Prince Regent East Indies and China Station Mediterranean Fleet Plymouth Command
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Portuguese Civil War First Opium War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, GCB (1 December 1781 – 13 November 1866), was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain's servant he took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June in June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and, as a captain, he participated in the capture of the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule at the Action of 13 March 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. He was detached on an independent command on the Tagus in September 1831 with a mission to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War. As Commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station, he provided naval support at various actions between 1841 and 1842 during the First Opium War. Appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in February 1845, he was briefly (for a week) First Naval Lord in the First Russell ministry from 13 July 1846 to 24 July 1846 but gave up the role due to ill health before returning to his command with the Mediterranean Fleet.

Born the son of George Parker (himself the second son of Sir Thomas Parker who had been Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer), William Parker entered the Royal Navy in February 1793 as a captain's servant on the third-rate HMS Orion, serving under Captain John Duckworth. In the Orion, which was part of the Channel Fleet commanded by Lord Howe, Parker took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June in June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. When Captain Duckworth was assigned to another ship, the third-rate HMS Leviathan, Parker followed him, and sailed with him to the West Indies Station where Duckworth appointed him acting lieutenant in the fifth-rate HMS Magicienne. He was appointed to the second-rate HMS Queen, flagship of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, in May 1798 and he became acting captain of the sixth-rate HMS Volage on 1 May 1799. Promoted to lieutenant on 5 September 1799, he cruised for the next few months in HMS Volage in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Cuba. Promoted to commander on 10 October 1799, he was given command of the sloop HMS Stork in November 1799. He returned to England and then spent nearly a year in HMS Stork in the North Sea or with the blockade fleet off Brest.