William Rowley (Royal Navy officer)

Sir William Rowley
Sir William Rowley
	Sir William Rowley
Born	1690
Died	1 January 1768
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Bideford; HMS Lively; HMS Barfleur
Battles/wars	Battle of Toulon
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Rowley KB (c. 1690 – 1 January 1768) was a British naval commander who distinguished himself during the War of the Austrian Succession and also became a Member of Parliament.

Naval career

Born the second son of William Rowley and his wife, Elizabeth Dawson, Rowley joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1704.^[1] Promoted to Captain in 1716, he was given command of HMS Bideford and then transferred to HMS Lively in 1719.^[1] Appointed to HMS Barfleur in 1741, he greatly distinguished himself in the Battle of Toulon which was lost to the Spanish in 1744.^[1]^[2] He became Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Fleet in the Mediterranean in 1745 and successfully kept the Spanish and French fleets out of the area.^[1]

He became Rear-Admiral in 1747, Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty in 1751 and Admiral of the Fleet on December 17, 1762.^[1]

Rowley entered Parliament in 1750 as member for Taunton, and represented that town until 1754. in that year he was chosen to represent Portsmouth until 1761.^[1]

He died in 1768 and is presumed to have been buried at Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk.^[1]

Family

William Rowley married Arabella Dawson and had five four sons and one daughter.^[1]^[3] Several of his descendants reached high positions in the Navy:

his son Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet, for whom the Rowley Baronetcy was created.
his grandson Admiral Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG (1765–1842), known as "The Sweeper of the Seas".
his grandson Admiral Charles Rowley, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCH (1770–1845)
his grandson Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Martin, GCB, GCMG (1764–1847)

References

Military offices
Preceded by Lord Anson	Admiral of the Fleet 1762–1768	Succeeded by Sir Edward Hawke
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Sir Charles Wyndham Robert Webb	Member of Parliament for Taunton 1750 – 1754 With: Robert Webb	Succeeded by John Halliday Lord Carpenter
Preceded by Sir Edward Hawke Isaac Townsend	Member of Parliament for Portsmouth 1754 – 1761 With: Sir Edward Hawke	Succeeded by Sir Edward Hawke Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh, Bt
Honorary titles
Preceded by Thomas Mathews	Rear-Admiral of Great Britain 1749–1763	Succeeded by Sir Edward Hawke

Template:Persondata

[odnb-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h William Rowley at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

[2] Naval Chronology Volume V

[3] The Peerage

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy
Senior Naval Lords (1689–1771)	Arthur Herbert Sir John Chicheley Edward Russell Henry Priestman Earl of Orford Sir George Rooke Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Matthew Aylmer Sir George Byng Sir John Jennings Sir John Norris Sir Charles Wager Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Harry Powlett Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Vere Beauclerk Lord Anson Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen John Forbes Earl Howe Sir Charles Saunders Augustus Keppel Sir Peircy Brett Sir Francis Holburne
First Naval Lords (1771–1904)	Augustus Hervey Sir Hugh Palliser Robert Man George Darby Sir Robert Harland Sir Hugh Pigot John Leveson-Gower Lord Hood Sir Charles Middleton James Gambier Sir Thomas Troubridge James Gambier John Markham James Gambier Sir Richard Bickerton William Domett Sir Joseph Yorke Sir Graham Moore Sir William Johnstone Hope Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr
First Sea Lords (1904–present)	Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher Sir Henry Jackson Sir John Jellicoe Sir Rosslyn Wemyss The Earl Beatty Sir Charles Madden, Bt Sir Frederick Field The Lord Chatfield Sir Roger Backhouse Sir Dudley Pound The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope Sir John Cunningham The Lord Fraser of North Cape Sir Rhoderick McGrigor The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Sir Charles Lambe Sir Caspar John Sir David Luce Sir Varyl Begg Sir Michael Le Fanu Sir Peter Hill-Norton Sir Michael Pollock Sir Edward Ashmore Sir Terence Lewin Sir Henry Leach Sir John Fieldhouse Sir William Staveley Sir Julian Oswald Sir Benjamin Bathurst Sir Jock Slater Sir Michael Boyce Sir Nigel Essenhigh Sir Alan West Sir Jonathon Band Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas Sir Philip Jones Sir Antony Radakin Sir Ben Key