Nelson, Horatio (1758-1805

    Horatio Nelson was a British admiral. The most famous of Britain's naval heroes, he is commemorated by the celebrated Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London.
    Horatio Nelson was born in Norfolkshire. He entered the navy at the age of 12 and became a captain at the age of 20. He saw service in the West Indies, in the Baltic, and in Canada. During these years he became friendly with the duke of Clarence (later William IV) and married (1787) a widow, Frances Nisbet, in the West Indies. That same year he returned to England and remained inactive and somewhat in disfavor at the admiralty.
    His first successful operation took place in Sent-Vincent , here thanks to his actions 4 ships of Spanish were captured. He was made a rear admiral by seniority and was created a knight of the Bath.In the unsuccessful British attempt to capture Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary islands Nelson was heavily wounded and his right arm was to be amputated . Having restored his power Nelson at the beginning of the year 1798 undertook the trip to Mediterranean Sea and from here the Egyptian Expedition of Horatio Nelson started. For the brilliant victory over the French flee at Aboukir (Egypt) Nelson was granted the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile. At Calvi he lost the sight in one eye.
    Later Horatio Nelson was placed in command of a squadron assisting the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Here he fell in love with Emma, Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British ambassador, who became his mistress.
    For several years Nelson was the councilor for Bourbons. His advice was not always brilliant and, in particularly, led to the failure of the land campaign against the French Army, followed by the downfall of Naples. During his absence on one occasion, the royalist commander, Fabrizio Ruffo, made a generous peace with the Neapolitan republicans. But Nelson, on his return, annulled the treaty and executed the Neapolitan admiral, Francesco Caracciolo, for desertion to the French. When the British commander in chief in the Mediterranean ordered him to Minorca, Nelson refused to obey on the grounds that his presence in Naples was politically necessary, but it was suspected that he did not wish to leave Lady Hamilton.
    In 1800 he returned to England with the Hamiltons and soon divorced with his wife. The same year, Lady Hamilton bore him a daughter, Horatia. Nelson contrived his appointment as second in command, under Sir Hyde Parker, of the fleet sent against the armed neutrality of the Baltic powers. He defeated the Danes at Copenhagen, ignoring Parker's order to cease action by putting his telescope to his blind eye and saying that he could not see the signal. He was made a viscount, returned to England, and was given command of the Channel fleet to repel an expected French invasion. During the interlude of peace, he lived in the country with the Hamiltons.
    Upon the renewal of war Nelson was given command of the fleet in the Mediterranean and blockaded the French fleet at Toulon for 22 months. When the French finally escaped, he pursued the fleet across the Atlantic to the West Indies and back to Spain, where it took refuge with the Spanish fleet in Cadiz. On Oct. 21, 1805, the combined fleets ventured out of port, and found Nelson waiting for them off Cape Trafalgar. Before the battle he gave the famous signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty." He won his most spectacular victory but died in the action.