Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol

Infobox Person
name = Admiral Augustus Hervey


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = 19 May 1724
birth_place = Derbyshire
death_date = 23 December 1779
death_place =
education =
occupation = admiral and politician
spouse = Elizabeth Chudleigh
parents =
children = no

Augustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, PC (19 May 1724 – 23 December 1779) was a British admiral and politician.

Biography

As a young man, he entered the Navy, where his promotion was rapid. He distinguished himself in several encounters with the French, and was of great assistance to Admiral Hawke in 1759, although he had returned to England before the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759. Having served with distinction in the West Indies under Rodney, his active life at sea ceased when the Peace of Paris was concluded in February 1763. He was, however, nominally Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean in this year, and was made Vice Admiral of the Blue in January 1778.

Hervey was Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds from 1757 to 1763, and, after being for a short time Member for Saltash, again represented Bury St Edmunds from 1768 until he succeeded his brother in the Earldom of Bristol in 1775.

He often took part in debates in Parliament, and was a frequent contributor to periodical literature. Having served as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1771 to 1775 he won some notoriety as an opponent of the Rockingham ministry and a defender of Admiral Keppel. In August 1744 he had been secretly married to Elizabeth Chudleigh (1720–1788), afterwards Duchess of Kingston, but this union was dissolved in 1769. Lord Bristol died leaving no legitimate issue, and having, as far as possible, alienated his property from the title. He was succeeded by his brother.

Many of his letters are in the Record Office, and his journals in the British Museum. Other letters are printed in the "Grenville Papers", vols. iii. and iv. (Londun, 1852-1853), and the "Life of Admiral Keppel", by the Rev. Thomas Keppel (London, 1852).

Hervey Bay, Queensland, a bay and town in Australia was named after him.

References

* [http://www.hervey.com.au/History/default.htm History of Hervey Bay]
* Holmes, M J R (1996). Augustus Hervey - A Naval Casanova. Durham: Pentland Press.
*1911

Persondata
NAME= Hervey, Augustus John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=3rd Earl of Bristol
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Admiral, politician
DATE OF BIRTH= 19 May, 1724
PLACE OF BIRTH= Derbyshire
DATE OF DEATH= 23 December, 1779
PLACE OF DEATH=