| Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet | |
| Birth Date: | ca. 1710 |
| Death Date: | 1776 |
| Rank: | Rear-Admiral |
| Commands: | HMS Thunder HMS Lichfield HMS Jersey HMS Royal Anne Jamaica Station |
Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet (c. 17101776) was a British naval officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station.
Burnaby was the son of John Burnaby of Kensington.[1] He entered the navy and was promoted to lieutenant in 1732. In August 1741 he was given command of the bomb-ketch HMS Thunder and posted to Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. In 1742 he became captain of the fourth-rate HMS Lichfield.[2]
On his return to England he bought Broughton Hall in Oxfordshire in 1747, was knighted in 1754 and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire for 1755.[2]
On the outbreak of war with France he was given command of the fourth-rate HMS Jersey and then the first-rate HMS Royal Anne and in 1762 promoted to rear-admiral. In 1763 he was back in the West Indies in command of the fourth-rate HMS Dreadnought with orders to protect and exploit local trade. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station in 1763[3] and Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station in 1764.[4] In 1765 he sailed to Belize at the request of the loggers there to protect them from Spanish attacks, drawing up a Civil Law for the colony called Burnaby's Code, which some claim to be the world's first constitution[5] and that has been signed by two women. He returned to England in 1767 and on 31 October 1767 was created a baronet. He was promoted to Vice-admiral of the White on 20 October 1770 and to Vice-admiral of the Red soon afterward.
He died in 1776, and was succeeded by his son Sir William Chaloner Burnaby. He had married twice: firstly Margaret, widow of Tim Donovan of Jamaica (they had the son, William Chaloner, and a daughter, Elizabeth) and secondly Grace, daughter of Drewry Ottley with whom he had six children, including Edward, who followed his father into the Royal Navy.[2] His daughter Charlotte married the MP Josias Du Pré Porcher.
His six times great-grandson is actor Daniel Craig.[6]
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