Robert Wauchope, (1788-1862) admiral and inventor of the time ball, was the fifth son of Andrew Wauchope (d.1823) of Niddrie-Marischall, Midlothian, Scotland, and his wife Alice Baird (d.1814), daughter of William Baird of Newbyth.
He joined the Royal Navy in 1802, was commissioned in 1808, and served in the Napoleonic wars, notably as a lieutenant in Captain Samuel Pym's disastrous attack on Mauritius in August 1810. After the destruction of his...
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Robert Wauchope, (1788-1862) admiral and inventor of the time ball, was the fifth son of Andrew Wauchope (d.1823) of Niddrie-Marischall, Midlothian, Scotland, and his wife Alice Baird (d.1814), daughter of William Baird of Newbyth.
He joined the Royal Navy in 1802, was commissioned in 1808, and served in the Napoleonic wars, notably as a lieutenant in Captain Samuel Pym's disastrous attack on Mauritius in August 1810. After the destruction of his ship, the Magicienne, Wauchope set off in a cutter to Réunion, 140 miles away, to warn Commodore Josias Rowley. He was picked up by Rowley the next day, and took part in Admiral Bertie's capture of Mauritius in December 1810. He was promoted to captain in 1814 after which he commanded the Swinger and the Eurydice. He visited Napoleon on St Helena 1816 and was stationed for the next three years at the Cape and St Helena.
He became "born again of the Holy Spirit" (Short Narrative, 84) in 1819 and expressed his disapproval to Admiral Robert...
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