Aleksey Samuilovich Greig (russian: Алексе́й Самуи́лович Грейг) (6 September 1775 – 18 January 1845), born into the noble Greig family, was an admiral of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. Born in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

, he was the son of Admiral

Samuel Greig Vice-Admiral Samuel Greig, or Samuil Karlovich Greig (russian: Самуи́л Ка́рлович Грейг), as he was known in Russia (30 November 1735, Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland – 26 October 1788, Tallinn, Estonia, Russian Empire) w ...

(1735–1788, then Governor of Kronstadt), brother-in-law of Mary Somerville, and father of General

Samuil Greig Samuil Alekseevich Greig (russian: Самуи́л Алексе́евич Грейг; 1827–1887), born into the Greig family, was a full general and adjutant general in the Imperial Russian Army. He served during the Hungarian Revolution of 184 ...

(1827–1887), Russian Minister of Finance. He studied at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

under the Rector Alexander Adam from 1783 to 1785, and then served as a volunteer on board , under Captain

Thomas Troubridge Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet (22 June 17571 February 1807) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Sadras in February 1782 during the American Revolutionary War and the Battle of Trincomal ...

. Greig started his career in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, serving in

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

from 1785 to 1796. He returned to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

to take part in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

expeditions against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from 1798–1800. Under the command of Admiral Dmitry Senyavin, he distinguished himself in 1807 in the

Battle of Athos The Battle of Athos (also known as the Battle of Monte Sancto or the Battle of Lemnos) took place on 1–2 July 1807 as a part of the Napoleonic Wars during the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812. Background In December 1806, Ottoman Sulta ...

and the Battle of the Dardanelles, which resulted in the Russian occupation of

Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...

and

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...

. At the close of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

he was placed in command of the sea blockade of Danzig during the 1813 siege of Danzig. Greig was not the only Russian officer of Scottish descent. While still a captain, he and another Scotsman, Captain Brown, were involved in some trouble due to the wreck of the Imperial frigate ''Archangel'' in 1797. In the following year, in the squadron off the

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

, he commanded the 64-gun ''Retvizan''; and Captain Robert Crown, said to be a Scot, had the 74-gun ''Utislaw''. In 1801 Greig was banished to Siberia for a time, in consequence of boldly remonstrating with the Emperor

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

for his severity to some British naval prisoners. In 1816 Greig became Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, a post which he kept for 17 years. At the same time, he served as Military Governor of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

and Nikolayev, introducing many reforms and improvements that the grateful citizens of Nikolayev would later erect a statue to his memory in 1873. During the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

of 1828–29, Greig's bold

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

made itself felt at the Sieges of Varna and

Anapa Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: History The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport ( ...

. He was in full command of the Russian fleet, which he had brought from Sevastopol: forty vessels, eight being of the line, acting in conjunction with the troops under Prince Menshikov for three months by sea and land. During these operations the Emperor

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

was his guest on board the ''Parizh'', which had the Diplomatic Chancery and 1,300 persons under her flag. Slade's ''Travels''. In 1833 Greig was recalled to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where the Emperor Nicholas appointed him a member of the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under the ...

and asked him to superintend the construction of the

Pulkovo Observatory The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (russian: Пулковская астрономическая обсерватория, Pulkovskaya astronomicheskaya observatoriya), officially named the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academ ...

. An

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

in French Polynesia

Niau Niau is a small atoll in French Polynesia, in the commune of Fakarava (Tuamotu archipelago). This atoll has a broad fringing reef, a diameter of 8 km and an area of 53 km2. Niau's lagoon is swampy, hypersaline and entirely enclosed. ...

is named Greig after Aleksey Greig. It was named in his honor by the Russian Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in 1820.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greig, Alex 1775 births 1845 deaths People from Kronstadt People from Petergofsky Uyezd Russian people of Scottish descent Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) War Governors of Nikolayev and Sevastopol Imperial Russian Navy admirals People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree British emigrants to Russia