Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, PC (25 April 1725 – 2 October 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1755 to 1782. He saw action in command of various ships, including the fourth-rate Maidstone, during the War of the Austrian Succession. He went on to serve as Commodore on the North American Station and then Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station during the Seven Years' War. After that he served as Senior Naval Lord and then Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet.
The Right Honourable Viscount Keppel PC | |
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Keppel, 1749, Joshua Reynolds's first painting of him, produced on Menorca | |
| Born | 25 April 1725 |
| Died | 2 October 1786 (aged 61) |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Service/ | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1735–1786 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Wolf HMS Greyhound HMS Sapphire HMS Maidstone HMS Anson HMS Centurion Mediterranean Fleet North American Station HMS Swiftsure HMS Torbay HMS Valiant Jamaica Station Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty Channel Fleet First Lord of the Admiralty |
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During the American Revolutionary War Keppel came into a notorious dispute with Sir Hugh Palliser over Palliser's conduct as his second-in-command at the inconclusive Battle of Ushant in July 1778; the dispute led to Keppel and Palliser facing courts martial, which acquitted both of them. During the final years of the American Revolutionary War Keppel served as First Lord of the Admiralty.