Geoffrey Hornby
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB (10 February 1825 – 3 March 1895) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action at the capture of Acre in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. As a captain, he was assigned to Vancouver Island with a naval brigade where he found a unit of United States troops ready to take over the San Juan Islands in a dispute that became known as the Pig War. Hornby used his powers of diplomacy to facilitate a peaceful handover of the islands to the United States.
Sir Geoffrey Hornby | |
|---|---|
Sir Geoffrey Hornby | |
| Born | 10 February 1825 Winwick, Lancashire |
| Died | 3 March 1895 (aged 70) Lordington House, Sussex |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1837–1895 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands held | Portsmouth Command Royal Naval College, Greenwich Mediterranean Fleet Channel Squadron Flying Squadron West Africa Squadron HMS Edgar HMS Neptune HMS Tribune |
| Battles/wars | Egyptian–Ottoman War Pig War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
| Relations | Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby (father) James John Hornby (brother) Edmund Phipps-Hornby (son) |
Hornby went on to be Commander-in-Chief, West Africa Squadron, Commander-in-Chief of the Flying Squadron and then Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron. After that he became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and finally Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.