Edward Hawke

Engelsk baron og admiral. Han gik ind i flåden i 1720 og så første gang kamp som kommandør for et skib under slaget ved Toulon (1744). Han blev forfremmet (1747) til kontreadmiral og påførte samme år en fransk eskadre et større nederlag ud for La Rochelle.

• Toulon II, 1744
• Kap Finisterre II, 1747
• Minorca I, 1756
• Quiberon-bugten, 1759

Hawke of Towton, Edward Hawke, 1st Baron , 1705–81, In the Seven Years War, Hawke relieved (1756) Admiral John Byng as commander in the Mediterranean and was appointed an admiral. In Nov., 1759, after blockading the French ports in the Bay of Biscay for six months, he won a decisive victory over the French fleet in Quiberon Bay. His victory averted the danger of a French invasion of Great Britain. He served (1766–71) as first lord of the admiralty and was raised (1776) to the peerage. During his long career Hawke did much to improve conditions in the fleet.