Fairfax Moresby
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Sir Fairfax Moresby GCB (1786 – 21 January, 1877), born in Calcutta, India, was an English admiral of the Fleet.
Sir Fairfax Moresby entered the Navy as an AB in 1799;
was a Midshipman on the Amazon in 1803;
became Master's Mate in 1805; Lieutenant in 1806; Commander in 1811;
Captain in 1814, he was senior officer at Mauritius in 1821, with orders to suppress the slave trade, and concluded a treaty with the imam of Muscat restricting the scope of local slave trading and conferring on English warships the right of searching and seizing local vessels.
Rear Admiral in 1849, he was commander-in-chief of the Pacific station 1850-1853, based at Valparaiso, Chile, with the Flagship HMS Portland. He took an interest in Pitcairn Island at this time and planned the emigration of the islanders to Norfolk Island which took place in 1856.
Vice-Admiral in 1856; Admiral in 1862. He was created a CB in 1815, a KCB in 1855 and GCB in 1865. He died in 1877.
On 6 August 1814 he married Eliza Louisa Williams (1796 - 1874) of Bakewell, Derbyshire, with whom he had five children:
- Ellen Mary Moresby (1820 - ?) who married Commander (later Admiral) James Charles Prevost
- Mary Moresby (1824 - ?)
- Commander Fairfax Moresby, (1826 - 1858), who died in the wreak of HMS Sappho off the coast of Victoria, Australia.
- Matthew Fortesque Moresby (1827 - 1919), was secretary to his father until he moved to Sydney, New South Wales where he became a well known painter and photographer.
- Captain John Moresby
External links
- [Fairfax Moresby's presentation sword]: An item description of Sir Admiral Fairfax Moresby's presentation sword in the National Maritime Museum.
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