Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal

Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal (1792 – 5 February 1863) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He became an accomplished surveyor, and reached the rank of vice-admiral.

Early life Vidal was born in 1792, the youngest of four children of Emeric Vidal, who served in the Royal Navy. Alexander followed his father, embarking on a naval career in December 1803 when he joined as a 1st class volunteer. He served alternately under Sir Charles Hamilton, Michael Seymour and W. Shield. He initially served in the English Channel, off the north coast of Spain and in the West Indies, until November 1805.

African mapping Vidal sailed aboard in December 1835, carrying 12 chronometers. He had married Sarah Antoinette, in the founding of Sarnia, Ontario. He died at Clifton, Bristol on 5 February 1863, aged 73. In 1955 a party from HMS Vidal were landed on Rockall to claim it as part of the United Kingdom, thus claiming the islet that Alexander Vidal had first surveyed over a hundred years before.