Legacy of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Encyclopedia
Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
was one of the leading British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
naval commanders of the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, responsible for several important victories over the French and Spanish navies during a time of crisis for the country. He was widely lauded for his success, and praised for his skill and daring. After his death during the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, he became revered as a British hero, and his fame reached new heights. Large numbers of monuments and memorials
Monuments and memorials to Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson KB was a British admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, during which he was killed...
have been created in his honour, and he has continued to influence British culture and society.
Background
The French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and the subsequent conflicts transformed the old systems of protocols of warfare. Whereas wars had previously been fought to inflict losses that would compel the enemy to seek peace, and concede some losses in the subsequent negotiations, it now became about destroying rival states and thoroughly subjugating them. The new Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
system terrified the property owning members of the British establishment, and resulted in a wave of patriotism, which manifested itself in the creation of a militarised society based on local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
s and volunteer forces. With early French victories in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, and large forces stationed at the Channel ports, there was the very real risk on invasion. For the first time since the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
, Britain felt that it was in a war of national survival. Together the French and Spanish fleets considerably outnumbered the British. The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
was the main instrument of defence for the country, but it was a highly professionalised and modern service. In contrast, the French Navy was poorly led, early purges having cost a number of experienced officers and admirals, whilst the Spanish had a large force and skilled leaders, but few sailors. The Russian and Danish forces, while numerically significant, were vastly inferior in quality. But while the French Army was able to achieve a number of victories on land, the Royal Navy was able to harass French possessions, intercept French trade and capture French colonies. The expansion of the navy brought a number of officers and commanders to prominence, but none achieved the level of fame and adulation that Nelson secured.
After Trafalgar
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
has been described by Andrew Lambert
Andrew Lambert
Andrew Lambert BA , MA, PhD, FRHistS is a British naval historian, who is currently Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College London.-Early life and education:...
as 'the ideal romantic death'. He was mortally wounded by an enemy sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
, dying slowly and remaining conscious throughout, surrounded by his chaplain and staff officers. His last thoughts covered matters such as final directions for his fleet, his hopes and fears for his family, and his personal desire for absolution and reassurance. The events were recorded by several of those present, including the surgeon, William Beatty, and later interpreted in dramatic paintings, both of the death scene, such as those by Benjamin West
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...
, and Arthur William Devis
Arthur William Devis
Arthur William Devis was an English painter of history paintings and portraits. He was appointed draughtsman in a voyage projected by the East India Company in 1783, under Captain Henry Wilson, in which he was wrecked on the Pelew Islands before proceeding to Canton and thence to Bengal...
, and of allegorical depictions of Nelson's ascent into immortality as a result of his glorious death, including works by West, and Scott Legrand. When news arrived in Britain the initial joy at the news of the victory was stifled by the report of his death, and a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
was immediately planned. Nelson was to be buried in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, in a grand ceremony that was not just a mere funeral but was intended to 'capture the essence, the spirit, and the name of Nelson for the nation.' A special coffin was devised, heavily decorated with emblems and symbols of Nelson's many victories. It enclosed the simpler coffin, given to Nelson by Benjamin Hallowell
Benjamin Hallowell Carew
Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell Carew GCB, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy...
, and was itself enclosed in a grand sarcophagus made for Cardinal Wolsey. When Nelson was laid in state at Greenwich Hospital, a crowd of 30,000 arrived to pay their respects. The subsequent funeral was one of the grandest ever staged, costing some £14,000 and attended by large numbers of admirals, captains and members of royalty.
Victorian era
By 1865 Nelson had been humanised by the British public, and his heroic status began to be reduced in comparison to newer military commanders, some of whom explicitly incorporated elements of Nelsonian tradition. The Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
reduced any potential threat that France might have offered, while the liberalising Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's policies saw the reduction of the navy as part of defence cuts. Gladstone's opponent, the Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
, appealed to the image and tradition of Nelson, and stressed the importance of the Navy to the defence of the country. The 1890s saw another revival in interest, with several new biographies. Nelson featured in school text books as an idealised British hero, but the more controversial aspects of his life were ignored. In 1891 a grand exhibition of Nelson's life opened, and was visited by nearly two and half million people in the six months it was open for. The formation of the Navy League in 1894 gave added impetus to the movement to recognise Nelson's legacy, and grand celebrations were held in Trafalgar Square on Trafalgar Day, 1896.
Twentieth century
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
in 1904 led to a call for muted celebrations of the centenary of Trafalgar the following year to avoid offending the French. Some navy officers continued to emphasise the importance of Nelson, Jackie Fisher chose 21 October 1904 as the day to take up the office of First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
, and was fond of citing Nelson when implementing changes to the Navy. He also oversaw the naming of many navy ships after ships that had been at Trafalgar, or other Nelsonian battles, such as , and ; or after events or people in some way connected with him, such as and . In many ways Fisher was preparing for a second Trafalgar. He had even selected a new Nelson to lead the new Nelsonian style navy, John Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
, of whom he wrote
Sir John Jellicoe. Phenomenally young and junior. He will be Nelson at Cape St Vincent until he becomes "Boss" at Trafalgar when Armageddon comes along in 1915 or thereabouts - not sooner!
Nelson's legacy was also influential in the Second World War, inspiring Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, who had written about him in his History of the English Speaking Peoples. Churchill kept a bust of Nelson in his study at Chartwell
Chartwell
Chartwell was the principal adult home of Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill and his wife Clementine bought the property, located two miles south of Westerham, Kent, England, in 1922...
, and named his cat
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the unofficial title of the official resident cat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 10 Downing Street. Only one cat, Humphrey, was given the title officially; the other cats are given this title affectionately, usually by the British press...
Nelson. He also declared That Hamilton Woman
That Hamilton Woman
That Hamilton Woman, originally titled Lady Hamilton, is a 1941 black-and-white British historical film drama which takes place during the Napoleonic wars, produced and directed by Alexander Korda for Alexander Korda Films.-Production:...
his favourite film, and often showed it to visiting naval officers. The example of Nelson inspired the population as a whole, and a number of Nelsonian biographies were reprinted during the war. The post war era saw the decline of British power, which had been pre-eminent since Nelson's time. Despite a large new biography by Carola Oman in 1946, the figure of Nelson seemed out of touch with post war austerity.
However Nelson's legacy has endured. In the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons was broadcast in 2002 by the BBC. The programme was the result of a vote conducted to determine whom the United Kingdom public considers the greatest British people in history. The series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further...
programme in 2002, Nelson was voted the 9th greatest Briton of all time. The bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005 led to a round of celebrations under the banner of 'Trafalgar 200
Trafalgar 200
Trafalgar 200 was a series of events in 2005 held mostly in the United Kingdom to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, where a British fleet led by Admiral Nelson defeated a joint Franco-Spanish fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. During the summer of 2005 there was an...
'. An International Fleet Review
International Fleet Review
For a full list of ships present, see List of ships present at International Fleet Review, 2005The International Fleet Review took place on 28 June 2005, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations to commemorate the 200th year after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.- 2005 Review Line-up :During the...
was held, and several new biographies and histories of the battle were published. Phrases such as "England expects
England Expects
England Expects is a 2004 British television movie made by BBC Scotland. It stars Steven Mackintosh, Keith Barron, Susan Vidler, Sadie Thompson, Camille Coduri, Karl Johnson, Preeya Kalidas, Nitin Ganatra and Sadiqul Islam...
" and "nelson" (meaning "111") continue to remain closely associated with English sporting teams, especially cricket
Nelson (cricket)
Nelson is a piece of cricket slang terminology and superstition.The name, applied to team or individual scores of 111 or multiples thereof is thought to refer to Lord Nelson's lost eye, arm and leg...
.
Art
After the arrival of Victory at PortsmouthPortsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, large numbers of artists arrived to prepare sketches for their interpretations of the battle, and Nelson's death. Arthur William Devis
Arthur William Devis
Arthur William Devis was an English painter of history paintings and portraits. He was appointed draughtsman in a voyage projected by the East India Company in 1783, under Captain Henry Wilson, in which he was wrecked on the Pelew Islands before proceeding to Canton and thence to Bengal...
and Benjamin West
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...
competed to create the grandest scene of the death, with West also painting his Apotheosis of Nelson. J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
also visited the Victory to gather material for his paintings of the battle. The caricaturist James Gilray produced some of the earliest works in the aftermath of the battle, but his works were considerably more respectful than many of his satirical attacks on public figures. A large number of prints were also quickly produced to capitalised on public interest. In the 1840s Prince Albert became interested in naval history, and commissioned several works, including ones depicting Nelson's victories, for the Royal palaces. Daniel Maclise
Daniel Maclise
Daniel Maclise was an Irish history, literary and portrait painter, and illustrator, who worked for most of his life in London, England.-Early life:...
duly designed and painted an enormous fresco for the Royal Gallery at Westminster.
Literature
Hastily written tributes appeared across the country immediately after the news arrived, in papers, pamphlets and books. Samuel Taylor ColeridgeSamuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, then at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, produced an obituary essay on the death of Alexander Ball
Alexander Ball
Sir Alexander John Ball, 1st Baronet was a British Admiral and the first British governor of Malta. He was born in Ebworth Park, Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire. He was the fourth son of Robert and Mary Ball....
, one of Nelson's captains whom he had known, and commented on Nelson's qualities. An official biography was written by John McArthur and James Stanier Clarke and published in 1809. This was followed by a work by Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
in 1813, and Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
wrote in his 1819 poem Don Juan
Don Juan (Byron)
Don Juan is a satiric poem by Lord Byron, based on the legend of Don Juan, which Byron reverses, portraying Juan not as a womanizer but as someone easily seduced by women. It is a variation on the epic form. Byron himself called it an "Epic Satire"...
that 'Nelson was Britannia's god of war'. In the 1840s Nicholas Harris Nicolas
Nicholas Harris Nicolas
Sir Harris Nicolas, KCMG, KH was an English antiquary.-Life:The fourth son of John Harris Nicolas , he was born at Dartmouth. Having served in the navy from 1812 to 1816, he studied law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1825...
drew up and published Nelson's collected correspondence. Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
's earliest works included a brief biographical sketch of Nelson, and he returned to consider Nelson in his 1839 work Heroes and Hero Worship. Thomas Pettigrew
Thomas Pettigrew
Thomas Joseph Pettigrew , sometimes known as "Mummy" Pettigrew, was a surgeon and antiquarian who became an expert on Ancient Egyptian mummies...
, capitalising on a resurgence of interest in Nelson, produced a new biography in the 1840s. J. K. Laughton produced several works on Nelson in the late nineteenth century, and in 1897 Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
published his Life of Nelson, which rapidly became a best seller.
Monuments
Dublin was the first city to create its own monument to Nelson, with work beginning on Nelson's Pillar
Nelson's Pillar
The Nelson Pillar , known locally as Nelson's Pillar or simply The Pillar, was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson in the middle of O'Connell Street, Dublin...
in 1808. Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
followed suit in 1813, and soon monuments had been erected in cities across the empire, including the Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
town on Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
in 1819. The possibility of a memorial in London had been discussed in 1816, but it was not until the 1830s that a programme of slum clearance created a suitable location, which was renamed Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
in 1835. The column
Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian...
itself was designed by William Railton
William Railton
William Railton was an English architect, best known as the designer of Nelson's Column. He was based in London with offices at 12 Regent Street for much of his career.He was a pupil of the London architect and surveyor William Inwood....
and modelled on a column in the Temple of Mars Ultor, in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. The Temple had been built to celebrate the transformation of the late military leader Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
into a god. The treatment accorded to Nelson established clear parallels, and compared the triumph of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
with the triumph of the British over the French. The square and column were completed by 1843, with the final addition of Sir Edwin Landseer's lions coming several years later.
Music
John BrahamJohn Braham
John Braham was a tenor opera singer born in London, England. His long career led him to become one of Europe's leading opera stars. He also wrote a number of songs, of minor importance, although The Death of Nelson is still remembered...
's song, The Death of Nelson, written immediately after Trafalgar, became extremely popular. Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Nelson
Nelson (opera)
Nelson is an opera in 3 acts by Lennox Berkeley to a libretto by Alan Pryce-Jones. The opera centres on the love affair of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton. Completed in 1951, it was first performed in full in 1954.-Background:...
premièred in 1954.
Nelson in contemporary fiction
Nelson appears in Susan SontagSusan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
's novel The Volcano Lover: A Romance, and as a ghost in Amber Benson
Amber Benson
Amber Nicole Benson is an American actress, writer, film director, and film producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but has also directed, produced and starred in her own films Chance and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics...
's and Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
's Ghosts of Albion
Ghosts of Albion
Ghosts of Albion started as a computer-animated web movie series on the BBC's website and has now spawned two book adaptations and two novels with a new role-playing game on the way.The works in order of release:...
. He appears several times in Dudley Pope
Dudley Pope
Dudley Bernard Egerton Pope was a British writer of both nautical fiction and history, most notable for his Lord Ramage series of historical novels. Greatly inspired by C.S. Forester, Pope was one of the most successful authors to explore the genre of nautical fiction, often compared to Patrick...
's Ramage
Lord Ramage
Nicholas, Lord Ramage was the fictional character at the centre of a series of sea novels written by Dudley Pope. Ramage was an officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
series, and features in Sharpe's Trafalgar by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
. Nelson is the object of the ardent admiration of Captain Jack Aubrey
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
in Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
's Aubrey–Maturin series
Aubrey–Maturin series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
. In James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, Nelson is referred to by the character Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, appearing as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographical novel of artistic existence A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and an important character in Joyce's Ulysses...
as the 'one-handled adulterer', when speaking of his namesake monument, Nelson's Pillar
Nelson's Pillar
The Nelson Pillar , known locally as Nelson's Pillar or simply The Pillar, was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson in the middle of O'Connell Street, Dublin...
. Nelson features in James A Michener's Caribbean, and is referred to in Barry Unsworth
Barry Unsworth
Barry Unsworth is a British novelist who is known for novels with historical themes. He has published 15 novels, and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times, winning once for the 1992 novel Sacred Hunger....
's novel Losing Nelson
Losing Nelson
Losing Nelson is a 1999 novel by Barry Unsworth. Its protagonist is Charles Cleasby, who is obsessed with Lord Nelson, attempts to re-enact events of "Horatio"'s life to the point of feeling that he is the admiral, and who is writing a hagiographic biography. His typist, the down-to-earth Miss...
. Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik is an American novelist. She is a first-generation American; her father is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, and her mother is an ethnic Pole. She studied English Literature at Brown University, and holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from Columbia University...
's alternate history/fantasy Temeraire series
Temeraire (series)
The Temeraire series of novels by Naomi Novik is composed of His Majesty's Dragon , Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, and Tongues of Serpents...
suggests an alternate future in which Nelson survives Trafalgar. A recently discovered Alexandre Dumas novel, The Knight of Sainte-Hermine
The Knight of Sainte-Hermine
The Knight of Sainte-Hermine is an unfinished historical novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is believed to be Dumas' last major work, and the story was lost until 2005, when it was announced that an almost-complete copy had been found in the form of a newspaper serial...
, portrays the title character as the shooter of Nelson. The character of Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
in C. S. Forester
C. S. Forester
Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
's series of books was partially inspired by Nelson. Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Nelson
Nelson (opera)
Nelson is an opera in 3 acts by Lennox Berkeley to a libretto by Alan Pryce-Jones. The opera centres on the love affair of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton. Completed in 1951, it was first performed in full in 1954.-Background:...
premièred in 1954.
Nelson was portrayed on film by Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
in That Hamilton Woman
That Hamilton Woman
That Hamilton Woman, originally titled Lady Hamilton, is a 1941 black-and-white British historical film drama which takes place during the Napoleonic wars, produced and directed by Alexander Korda for Alexander Korda Films.-Production:...
(1941), and also in the film The Young Mr. Pitt. Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
portrayed him in a 1973 film adaptation of Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
's 1970 stage play A Bequest to the Nation
A Bequest to the Nation
A Bequest to the Nation is a 1970 play by Terence Rattigan, based on his 1966 television play Nelson . It recounts the events surrounding Horatio Nelson, his mistress Emma Hamilton, and his wife Frances Nisbet in the events immediately before, during and after the Battle of Trafalgar...
. Nelson also appears as a minor character in Abel Gance
Abel Gance
Abel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse , La Roue , and the monumental Napoléon .-Early life:...
's Austerlitz (1960). In the 1961 television series, Triton, Nelson was played by Robert James
Robert James (actor)
Robert James was a Scottish actor, who was best known for his television work.Born in Paisley, Scotland, Robert James trained to be a lawyer, before being spotted by a professional director while doing amateur dramatics....
, and in a 1968 version of the same series, he was played by Terry Scully
Terry Scully
Terry Scully was a British theatre and television actor.After making his name in the theatre, from the 1960s onwards he became more known for TV work...
.
Lord Nelson's cultus was repeatedly lampooned in the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
sitcom Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
. At one point, the show's antihero, Mr. E. Blackadder
Mr. E. Blackadder
Edmund Blackadder, Esq. is the main character in the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder. He was played by Rowan Atkinson.The series was set in the reign of George III of the United Kingdom . The character is in keeping with the trend of the series Blackadder is lower in rank in this series,...
, mocks Nelson's famous signal
England expects that every man will do his duty
"England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on 21 October 1805. Trafalgar was the decisive naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars...
at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. He announces that Nelson used a similar signal at the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
: "England knows Lady Hamilton is a virgin. Poke my eye out and cut off my arm if I'm wrong."
Lord Nelson also appears in the Georgian segment of Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Blackadder's Christmas Carol is a one-off episode of Blackadder, a parody of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is set between Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth , and is narrated by Hugh Laurie...
at a party hosted by the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
.
Nelson and the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy have named a number of ships after Nelson or his victories. These have included , , and . The Royal Navy celebrates Nelson every 21 October by holding Trafalgar Day dinners and toasting "The Immortal Memory" of Nelson. His flagship Victory is still kept on active commission in honour of Nelson — it is the flagship of the Second Sea LordSecond Sea Lord
The Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , commonly just known as the Second Sea Lord , is one of the most senior admirals of the British Royal Navy , and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were...
, and is the oldest commissioned Naval ship in the world. She can be found in Number 2 Dry Dock of the Royal Naval Museum
Royal Naval Museum
The Royal Naval Museum is the museum of the history of the Royal Navy in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence. Its current Acting Director is Graham Dobbin....
at the Portsmouth Naval Base, in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, which is named HMS Nelson. The Victory was drydocked for restoration in 1922, and opened to the public as a shrine to Nelson and his navy in 1928.
Nelsonia
The bullet that killed Nelson is permanently on display in the Grand Vestibule of Windsor CastleWindsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. The uniform that he wore during the battle, with the fatal bullet hole still visible, can be seen at the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
in Greenwich. A lock of Nelson's hair was given to the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
from the Royal Navy after the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
. It is still on display at the Edashima Naval Academy
Naval Academy Edashima
Etajima base in Etajima city, Hiroshima prefecture is located in the Etajima-cho government building and is the base of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Beside the housing the 1st Technical School and the Officer Candidates School, it is home to the local Kure Naval District, LCAC training...
, a public museum maintained by the Japan Self-Defense Forces
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
. Another may be seen in the dining room of the museum ship HMY Britannia
HMY Britannia
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing cutter built for The Prince of Wales...
, the former royal yacht, now permanently moored near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.