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 ...

Sir Robert O'Brien FitzRoy (2 April 1839 – 7 May 1896) 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 who served as Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron.

Naval career

Born the son of Admiral

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy, politician and scientist who served as the second governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of ...

, FitzRoy Junior joined the

in 1853.The Correspondence of Charles Darwin:, Volume 14; Volume 1866 By Charles Darwin, Duncan M. Porter, p. 509
/ref> He served in the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

in 1857 and was 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 ...

in 1872. In 1878 he commanded HMS ''Alexandra'', flagship of Admiral Sir

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 ...

through the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and although he grounded the ship, it was later re-floated. On 16 April 1886 he was made a Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen. He served as Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron from 1894 to 1895 and was appointed KCB shortly before his death in 1896.Whitacker's Almanack 1896

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzroy, Robert Obrien 1839 births 1896 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Robert O'Brien Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War