Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol
Vice Admiral Augustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, PC (19 May 1724 – 23 December 1779[1]) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He commanded the sixth-rate HMS Phoenix at the Battle of Minorca in May 1756 as well as the third-rate HMS Dragon at the Capture of Belle Île in June 1761, the Invasion of Martinique in January 1762 and the Battle of Havana in June 1762 during the Seven Years' War. He went on to be Chief Secretary for Ireland and then First Naval Lord.
The Earl of Bristol
Early life[edit]
Hervey was born the second son of John, Lord Hervey and educated at Westminster School from 1733.[2] He entered the Royal Navy in 1735[2] and was promoted to lieutenant in 1740.[3]
Political career[edit]
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; as a member of the House of Lords, he automatically became ineligible to sit in the Commons. He often took part in debates in Parliament, and was a frequent contributor to periodical literature. He was an opponent of the Rockingham ministry and a strong defender of Admiral Keppel with whom he had worked closely.[7]
He was a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III from 1763 to 1775 and Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1766 to 1767.[3] He joined the Board of Admiralty as First Naval Lord in the North ministry in February 1771[8] and stood down from the Admiralty Board in April 1775.[9]