Probably the most famous British naval commander of all time, Horatio Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, an East Anglian town in Norfolk, in September of 1758.

His father was the local rector. The young Horatio joined the Navy in 1770 and within nine years had been promoted to the rank of captain. In 1787 Frances Nisbet became Mrs Francis Nelson when they married in the West Indies.

John Flaxman created the marble bust in this photograph in 1801. Nelson’s niece, Charlotte, thought it was “the only true likeness that has ever been made of my dear uncle.”

In Naples, Italy, he met and fell for the wife of the British Ambassador, one Lady Hamilton who became Nelson’s mistress. This painting is probably the best-known study of Lady Hamilton, painted by George Romney in 1785.

Between 1793 and 1797 Horatio was rather unlucky and managed to lose not only his right eye but also his right arm in battle, whilst stationed in the Mediterranean. By 1800 he had separated from his wife.

During the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Nelson played a major part in the British Navy and went on to become the victor in many sea battles, including the battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of the Nile.

In 1796 he was promoted to the lofty rank of Commodore of the Fleet and in 1801 became a Vice Admiral and later Viscount Trafalgar. He took command of the Mediterranean fleet when war between France and England broke out in 1803. Before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, he sent the famous signal “England expects that every man will do his duty”.

A picture of ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’ was J.M.W. Turner’s only royal commission, ordered by George IV in 1882. The painting combines a series of incidents into an evocation of events. It displeased most naval officers at the time.
Nelson was mortally wounded on the 21st October 1805, having defeated the French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar, and therefore preventing Napoleon from invading England. Nelson’s last words were, allegedly, “Kiss me Hardy”. His bloodstained uniform is one of the many Nelson artefacts that can be seen at the National Maritime Museum.

Following the victorious battle and Nelson’s death Trafalgar Square was built in his honour. At the centre of the square Nelson stands proudly on top of a giant column.

This painting of the event by Arthur William Devis is called ‘The Death of Nelson’. On Victory’s Orlop Deck, Captain Hardy stands over Nelson with Walter Burke, the Purser, by the pillow. Nelson’s steward, Chevalier, looks at Dr Beatty who feels for Nelson’s pulse.