Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Archibald Dickson, 1st Baronet (c.1739–1803) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer.

Naval career

He was born around 1739, the son of Archibald Dickson. He initially entered the merchant navy in 1752. He moved to the

in 1755 and passed the lieutenant exam in 1759. In 1765, he was given command of

HMS Egmont Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Egmont'': *, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1768, and broken up in 1799. * was a schooner of eight guns and 100 tons burthen, launched in 1768. The Royal Navy purchased her b ...

, and in 1771, he took command of HMS Thunder. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 31 January 1774, Dickson was given command of the

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

HMS ''Antelope'' in January 1774 and the

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

HMS ''Greyhound'' in October 1775. In Greyhound, he took part in the action against the Penobscot Expedition in July 1779 and fought at the Battle of Martinique in April 1780 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He was next given command of the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

HMS ''Dublin'' and saw action at the

Battle of Cape Spartel The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco- Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully re ...

in October 1782. After that, he was given command of the third-rate HMS ''Goliath'' in 1786, of the third-rate HMS ''Captain'' in 1790, and of the third-rate HMS ''Egmont'' in 1793. Promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 12 April 1794, and

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

on 1 June 1795, Dickson became Commander-in-Chief, North Sea in 1800. In August 1800, a diplomatic mission was sent to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

under Lord Whitworth, accompanied by a fleet under Dickson's command. He was promoted to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 1 January 1801, with at Yarmouth serving as his flagship. She was paid off in April 1802.

Baronetcy and death

In honour of his service, Dickson was created Sir Archibald Dickson, 1st Baronet, on 21 September 1802. He died near

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in May 1803.

Family

Dickson had married twice: firstly to Elizabeth Porter, who died in 1779, and (after a 20-year wait), in 1800, he married Frances Anne Willis. He had a daughter, Elizabeth Dickson (d.1856), but no male heir. Therefore, the baronetcy passed to his nephew, Archibald Collingwood Dickson.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Archibald Royal Navy admirals 1803 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars