Thomas Maitland
Royal Navy officer and peer
Died when: 75 years 210 days (906 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
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Admiral of the Fleet Thomas Maitland, 11th Earl of Lauderdale, GCB (3 February 1803 – 1 September 1878) was a Royal Navy officer and peer.
As a junior officer he saw action supporting the blockade of Algiers by Greek revolutionaries in July 1824 during the Greek War of Independence and then took part in an operation to land a naval brigade in Brazil to protect Pedro I, the Emperor of Brazil, in the face of the Irish and German Mercenary Soldiers' Revolt.
He also took part in the Battle of Luchana, an operation to defend the Port of Bilbao on the north coast of Spain, during the First Carlist War.
Maitland also fought at various battles during the First Opium War including the Battle of Canton at which he commanded the 1st naval battalion.
He gave evidence to the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom and argued that building powerful ships was more important than building fortifications.
He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station.
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