Viscount Keppel
| The Viscount Keppel | |
|---|---|
Keppel, 1749, Joshua Reynolds's first painting of him,
produced on Menorca |
|
| Born | 25 April 1725 |
| Died | 2 October 1786 (aged 61) |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Great Britain
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1735–1786 |
| Rank | Admiral of the White |
| Commands held | Jamaica Station |
| Battles/wars |
War of the Austrian Succession (Voyage round the world), Seven Years' War (Quiberon Bay), War of American Independence (Ushant) |
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC (25 April 1725 – 2 October 1786) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence. During the final years of the latter conflict he served as First Lord of the Admiralty.
A member of a leading Whig aristocratic family (which had come to England with William of Orange in 1688), Augustus Keppel was the second son of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and Anne van Keppel, a daughter of the 1st Duke of Richmond (himself an illegitimate son of King Charles II). Augustus Keppel went to sea at the age of ten, and had already five years of service to his credit when he was appointed to Centurion and sent with Lord Anson round the world in 1740. He had a narrow escape from being killed at the capture of Paita (13 November 1741), and was named acting lieutenant in 1742. Also on this voyage, he made friends with John Campbell, and lost many of his teeth to the scurvy prevalent on the voyage. After their return from the circumnavigation, in 1744, he was promoted to be Commander and post-captain of the 14-gun sloop Wolf. He was actively employed throughout the rest of the War of the Austrian Succession, until peace was signed in 1748. In 1747 he ran his ship Maidstone (50) ashore near Belleisle while chasing a French vessel, but was honourably acquitted by a court martial, and reappointed to another command.
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