Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, 39th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1747)
Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 1748 – 31 August 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his semi-retirement. Duckworth, a vicar's son, achieved much in a naval career that began at the age of 11.
Serving with most of the great names of the Royal Navy during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, he fought almost all of Britain's enemies on the seas at one time or another, including a Dardanelles operation that would be remembered a century later during the First World War. He was in command at the Battle of San Domingo, the last great fleet action of the Napoleonic Wars.
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1817Aug, 31
Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet
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Events on 1817
- 19Jan
Crossing of the Andes
An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru. - 24Jan
Action of Picheuta
Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the Action of Picheuta. - 15Apr
American School for the Deaf
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut. - 4Jul
Erie Canal
In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins. - 30Oct
Simón Bolívar
The independent government of Venezuela is established by Simón Bolívar.