Henry Byam Martin

Sir Henry Byam Martin
Sir Henry Byam Martin
Born	(1803-06-25)25 June 1803 Plymouth, Devon, England
Died	9 February 1865(1865-02-09) (aged 61) Genoa
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1818 - 1865
Rank	Admiral
Awards	KCB

Admiral Sir Henry Byam Martin KCB (25 June 1803 – 9 February 1865) was a senior Royal Navy officer and watercolour artist.

Naval career

Martin was born in 1803 the second son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Byam Martin comptroller of the navy (1815–1831). Educated at the Royal Naval College Martin first went to sea in October 1818, by 1840 he was Captain in charge of HMS Carsyfort off the coast of Syria when he was involved in action off Tartus during the Syrian War and he took part in the capture of Acre on 3 November 1840. His actions earned him an appointment as a Commander of the Order of the Bath.

He was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1854 and was appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for his work during the war with Russia in 1855.

Sir Henry Byam Martin is a direct descendant of Sire Martin de Tours, Lord Combe Martin. Lord Kemys, a general officer for William the Conqueror.

Artist

Temple of Jupiter Olympus, Athens, 11 July 1835

During his travels with the Navy Martin sketched and painted what he had seen.

Family

His elder brother William Martin also became a senior naval commander.

Further reading

• O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). "Martin, Henry Byam" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary . John Murray – via Wikisource.
• Martin, Henry Byam; Burant, James (1981). Friendly spies on the Northern tour, 1815-1837 : sketches of Henry Byam Martin. Ottawa: Public Archives. ISBN 9780662512769. OCLC 428430527.