Beaufort Sir Francis

Beaufort, Sir Francis, naval officer and hydrographer, was born in 1774, and entered the Royal Navy in 1787. He served in the Aquilon on the Glorious First of June, 1794, and in the Phaeton on the occasion of Cornwallis's celebrated retreat. Becoming a lieutenant in 1796, he was severely wounded in 1800 while assisting in the cutting out of a Spanish vessel, moored under the guns of a battery. Immediately afterwards he was promoted to the rank of commander, and in 1810 he attained post-rank. Thenceforward he was for some time employed on surveying duty, and in 1832 was appointed hydrographer" to the Admiralty, a post which he held until 1855. He was made an F.R.S. in 1814, rear-admiral in 1846, and K.C.B. in 1848. He died in 1857.