  Horatio Nelsonhero of the Battle of Trafalgar
Viscount Nelson, one of England's
greatest admirals, was given command of the British
Mediterranean fleet in 1803 at the outbreak of the
Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain and their
respective allies. At the Battle of Trafalgar, fought
near the Strait of Gibraltar on October 21, 1805, Nelson
defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet. The victory
cost Nelson his life, but ended French naval dominance in
Europe. Napoleon then decided that the only way he could
defeat the British was through economic warfare. Britain
responded by taking measures that were among the primary
causes of the War of 1812.
A statue of Nelson sits atop a memorial
column in London's Trafalgar
Square, which was named in
honor of the battle which established British domination
over the seas.
| Chronology
of Horatio Nelson's Life and Career |
| September 29, 1758 |
Born at Burnham-Thorpe, Norfolk. |
| ca. 1770 |
Accompanied Captain Maurice
Suckling, his uncle, on a voyage to the Falkland
Islands. |
| ca. 1773 |
Served aboard the Carcass
as a coxswain on its voyage to the Arctic seas. |
| ca. 1776 |
Became a Lieutenant in the Royal
Navy. |
| 1779 |
Given command of the frigate Hinchinbrook. |
| 1784-1787 |
Commanded the frigate Boreas,
stationed in the West Indies. |
| 1787 |
Married the widow of Josiah
Nisbet. |
| 1787-1793 |
Retired from the Royal Navy. |
| 1793 |
Given command of the Agamemnon
and ordered to join the Mediterranean fleet. |
| |
Wounded during the Battle of
Calvi, on the Corsican coast, and lost the sight
of his right eye. |
| 1797 |
Promoted to the rank of Rear
Admiral. |
| 1797 |
Served under Admiral Sir John
Jervis at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. |
| 1797 |
Made a Knight of the Bath. |
| 1797 |
Led a small landing party in an
attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary
Islands. The British were defeated and Nelson's
right arm was badly mangled and had to be
amputated. |
| August 1, 1798 |
Attacked and almost destroyed
the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile. |
| 1798 |
Made Baron of the Nile. |
| 1801 |
Promoted to Vice-Admiral. |
| 1801 |
Defeated the Danish fleet at the
Battle of Copenhagen. |
| May 1803 |
Made Commander-in-Chief of the
fleet. |
| October 21, 1805 |
Fatally wounded during the
British defeat of the combined French and Spanish
fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar. |
SEE ALSO
War of 1812
Trafalgar
Square
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