John Scott

John Scott (1764 – 21 October 1805) was a warrant officer in the Royal Navy. He was a friend and confidant to Lord Nelson and served as his secretary in . He was present at the Battle of Trafalgar during which he was killed in the opening exchanges.

Not much is known about Scott but letters kept by Lady Hamilton indicate that they knew each other well. Scott gave Emma news of Nelson and she in turn appears to have taken his wife under her wing. It was through her that he learnt of the birth of his son shortly after leaving England. Scott also spent time with Nelson and Emma at their home, Merton, during a brief spell of shore leave in the summer of 1805.

At Trafalgar, Scott was stationed on the quarterdeck of Victory, next to Nelson. It would have been his job to record the battle but one of the first cannonballs to reach Victory cut him in half, killing him immediately.

The body was thrown overboard, as was the custom, but the not inconsiderable amount of blood remained on the deck. When Nelson was shot an hour and half later he fell on the same spot and thus the blood that stained his breeches, now displayed in the National Maritime Museum, was Scott's not Nelson's as so often is supposed.

Nelson clearly valued Scott, writing in a testimonial, "...as a secretary for ability, punctuality and regularity I believe your superior is not to be met with".

He was survived by a son John Francis Scott (16 October 1796 – 16 December 1854).