William Arthur (Royal Navy)

William C. Arthur (4 July 1830 – 15 November 1886) was a Royal Navy officer who was the namesake of the English name for Lüshunkou, Port Arthur, which changed hands between China, Imperial Russia, Japan, and the Soviet Union between 1894 and 1945.

Career

Arthur entered the navy at age fifteen in July 1845. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 8 March 1854, and two years later in 1856, he acquired his first experience of command on the Manly. On 4 June 1858 he was given command of the frigate HMS Algerine. In August 1860, during the Second Opium War, Arthur had towed the crippled Algerine into the harbour at Lüshun (at that time an unfortified fishing village) for repairs. The British referred to Lüshun as "Port Arthur" from this point on, and the Russians and other Western powers adopted the British name.

Arthur was promoted to Commander on 1 April 1861 and Captain on 15 April 1867. In 1882 he served briefly as a naval attache in Washington, D.C. before being assigned the command of HMS Hector. He retired with the rank of Rear Admiral on 30 March 1885.