Hyde Parker

Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker CB (1784 – 26 May 1854), sometimes referred to as Hyde Parker III, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in January 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. He also commanded the naval forces at the siege of Machias in September 1814 and took the surrender of the frigate USS President in January 1815 during the War of 1812. He became First Naval Lord in February 1852 and in that capacity he ensured that all new warships being procured were propelled by steam and he also increased the size of the active fleet.

Early career

The second of three sons of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Anne Parker (née Boteler), Parker joined the Royal Navy in February 1796. After initial training at the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth he joined the fifth-rate HMS Cambrian. Parker commanded the naval forces at the siege of Machias in September 1814 and took the surrender of the frigate USS President in January 1815 during the War of 1812. Having been appointed an extra aide-de-camp to the King on 5 September 1831, he took command of the first-rate HMS Victory also at Portsmouth in December 1831 and then the second-rate HMS Rodney in the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1835.

Senior command Promoted to rear-admiral on 23 November 1841, Parker went on to be Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard, hoisting his flag in HMS Victory, in August 1842 and Commander of the Experimental Squadron in July 1845. he died while still in office at his home in Ham in Surrey on 25 May 1854

Family

In 1821 he married Caroline Eden (1801–1854), daughter of Sir Frederick Eden, 2nd Baronet; they had several children. Their son, Hyde Parker, was a captain in the Black Sea during the Crimean War and was killed on 8 July 1854 when storming a Russian fort at Sulina.