Simone Antonio Pacoret de Saint-Bon (March 20, 1828 – November 26, 1892) was an admiral of the Italian ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' (" ...

'' (Royal Navy). Saint-Bon was born at

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chamb ...

, now in France, then part of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

. Leaving the Naval Academy in 1847, he attained the rank of commander in 1860, and that of vice-admiral in 1867. He took part in the

Crimean war The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

, distinguished himself in 1860 at the siege of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, and was decorated for valor at the Siege of Gaeta. At the battle of

Battle of Lissa (1866) The Battle of Lissa (or Battle of Vis) ( hr, Bitka kod Visa) took place on 20 July 1866 in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Vis () and was a significant victory for an Austrian Empire force over a numerically superior Italian for ...

, his vessel, the , forced the entrance of the port of San Giorgio and silenced the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n batteries, for which exploit he received a gold medal. In 1873 he was elected deputy, and appointed by

Marco Minghetti Marco Minghetti (18 November 1818 – 10 December 1886) was an Italian economist and statesman. Biography Minghetti was born at Bologna, then part of the Papal States. He signed the petition to the Papal conclave, 1846, urging the electi ...

to be minister of marine, in which position he revolutionized the Italian navy. Insisting upon the need for large battleships with high powers of attack and defense, and capable of fighting as single units, he introduced the colossal types of which and were the earliest examples. Falling from power with the Right in 1876, he resumed active service, but in 1891 was again appointed minister of marine. He died at Rome on 26 November 1892, while still in office. He is remembered in Italy as the originator of the modern Italian fleet. Two Italian Navy ships were named after him *The

Italian battleship Ammiraglio di Saint Bon ''Ammiraglio di Saint Bon'' was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Regia Marina built during the 1890s. She was laid down in July 1893, launched in April 1897, and completed in May 1901. She was the lead ship of her class, and had one sister ...

, commissioned in 1901 *The Italian submarine Ammiraglio Saint-Bon, a

Cagni-class submarine The ''Cagni'' or ''Ammiraglio Cagni'' class was a class of submarines built for Italy's ''Regia Marina'' during World War II. Design These submarines were designed as commerce raiders for oceanic operations. They had high endurance and a large ...

commissioned in 1940

References

* (Note the error "Arturo" instead of the correct "Antonio".) * Guido Almagià: ''SAINT-BON, Simone Antonio Pacoret de''. In

Enciclopedia Italiana The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' ( Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language ...

, vol. 30, Rome 1936
online
at ''treccani.it'')

External links

Item
in the database ''Senatori d'Italia'' of the Italian Senate
Item
in the Portale Storico of the

Camera dei Deputati The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Bon, Simone Arturo 1828 births 1892 deaths Military personnel from Chambéry People of the Crimean War Italian admirals Regia Marina personnel 19th-century Italian military personnel