Chronology of Nelson

1758 29th. September – Horatio Nelson born at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk.
1767 26th. December – His mother, Catherine Nelson, dies.
1770 War threatens between Britain and Spain over the Falkland Islands.
27th. November – Entered as midshipman in the Raisonnable.
1771 March – Joins the Raisonnable.
15th. May – Transfers to the Triumph.
August – Sails to the Caribbean on a West Indian merchant ship.
1772 Returns to England and rejoins the Triumph.
1773 June to September, sails with the expedition in search of an Arctic route route to the Pacific.
Appointed midshipman in the frigate Seahorse and sails for the East Indies.
1775 Invalided from his ship with malaria.
War of American Independence begins.
1776 August, returns to England.
1777 9th. April, passes examination for lieutenant.
10th. April, appointed to the frigate Lowestoft.
19th. July, arrives at Port Royal, Jamaica.
1778 France allied with American rebels against Britain.
July, Captain Maurice Suckling dies.
September, appointed first lieutenant in the Bristol.
December, appointed commander of the sloop Badger.
1779 June, promoted to post-captain in command of the frigate Hinchinbroke.
Spain allied with France against Britain.
1780 February to April, takes part in disastrous expedition into Nicaragua.
April, appointed command the frigate Janus but too ill.
1st. December, arrives at Portsmouth.
1781 August, appointed to command the frigate Albemarle.
Autumn, escorting Baltic convoy.
18th. October, Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown.
1782 April, crosses the Atlantic to Quebec.
November, joins Lord Hood’s squadron off New York and returns to the West Indies.
1783 March, fails to take Turks Island.
June, returns to England.
American War of Independence ends.
October to January, 1784, at St. Omer in France.
1784 March, appointed to command the frigate Boreas and sails for the West Indies.
28th. July, arrives at English Harbour, Antigua, and meets Mary Moutray.
1785 20th. March, Mary Moutray and her family sail for England.
May, Nelson meets Frances (Fanny) Nisbet.
1786 November to March, 1787, aide-de-campe to Prince William Henry
1787 11th. March, marries Frances Nisbet at Nevis.
July, sails for England.
17th. December, trial of James Carse for murder in London.
Captain Nelson on half pay.
1788 Unemployed in Norfolk.
1789 French Revolution begins.
1793 6th. January, re-employed by the Admiralty.
21st. January, execution of King Louis XVI of France.
26th. January, appointed to command the Agamemnon.
7th. February, joins the Agamemnon.
June, sails for the Mediterranean.
July and August, off Toulon.
27th. August, occupation of Toulon.
September, visits Naples and meets the Hamiltons.
22nd. October, action with French frigates.
19th. December, Toulon recaptured by the French.
1794 January to August, campaign in Corsica.
12th. July, right eye injured at Calvi.
1795 14th. March, action with the “Ca Ira”.
December, Admiral Jervis succeeds Lord Hood as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean.
1796 March, appointed commodore.
May, joins the Captain.
1797 13th. February, leaves the Mediterranean.
14th. February, plays decisive part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
Promoted rear-admiral, created Knight of the Bath.
Hoists flag in the Theseus. Returns home.
April – May, mutinies in Royal Navy ships at Spithead and the Nore.
3rd. to 5th. July, boat actions off Cadiz.
24th. July, failure of attack on Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Nelson loses right arm.
11th. October, Admiral Duncan defeats Dutch at Camperdown.
1798 March and April, hoists flag in the Vanguard and joins Lord St. Vincent’s fleet off Cadiz.
July, pursuing the French fleet in the Mediterranean.
1st. August, destroys the French fleet in Aboukir Bay.
22nd. September, arrives at Naples.
Turkey and Russia declare war on France.
6th. November, created Baron Nelson of The Nile.
26th. November, King Ferdinand and Marshal Mack take Rome.
December, Ferdinand and Mack routed by the French.
23rd. to 26th. December, Nelson rescues Bourbons and Hamiltons from Naples and takes them to Palermo.
1799 23rd. January, the French take Naples.
June, Lord Keith succeeds Lord St. Vincent as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean.
8th. June, Nelson transfers to the Foudroyant.
24th. June, returns to Naples and cancels truce with the rebels.
29th. June, Admiral Caracciolo executed.
July, disobeys orders to sail for Minorca.
8th. August, returns to Palermo.
August to December, commands in the Mediterranean during Lord Keith’s absence. Created Duke of Bronte and given Sicilian estate.
23rd. August, Bonaparte escapes from Egypt.
9th. October, Bonaparte reaches France.
12th. December, Bonaparte becomes First Consul.
1800 January, Lord Keith returns to the Mediterranean.
18th. February, Nelson captures “Le Genereux”.
24th. April, visits Maltese waters with the Hamiltons.
14th. June, arrives in Leghorn with the Hamiltons on the way home.
13th. July, strikes flag in the Mediterranean.
5th. September, Malta finally falls to the British.
July to November, Nelson visits European cities on the journey home.
6th. November, lands at Yarmouth in Norfolk to a heroes welcome and is given the Freedom of The Borough.
8th. November, meets Lady Nelson in London. Spends Christmas at Fonthill with the Hamiltons.
1801 1st. January promoted vice-admiral.
13th. January, hoists flag in the San Josef.
5th. February, Horatia born to Emma Hamilton.
12th. February, transfers to the St. George.
6th. March, joins Admiral Parker at Yarmouth.
12th. March, sails for the Baltic.
2nd. April, the Battle of Copenhagen.
9th. April, signs armistice with Denmark.
6th. May, succeeds Parker as Commander-in-Chief, Baltic.
22nd. May, created Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe. 19th. June, relieved by Admiral Pole.
1st. July, lands at Yarmouth.
27th. July, takes command of the Squadron of a Particular Service for home defence.
15th. August, failure of attack on Boulogne.
September, buys Merton Place.
1st. October, Britain and France sign armistice.
22nd. October, given leave and joins the Hamiltons at Merton.
29th. October, takes his seat in the House of Lords.
1802 25th. March, Treaty of Amiens formally ends war with France.
26th. April, the Rev Edmund Nelson dies.
1803 6th. April, Sir William Hamilton dies.
16th. May, Britain declares war on France and Nelson appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.
18th. May, hoists flag in the Victory.
6th. July, joins the fleet off Toulon.
August, the French prepare to invade England.
1804 Nelson blockades the French Mediterranean ports.
14th. December, Spain declares war on Britain.
1805 January – February, chases but fails to intercept Villeneuve’s fleet.
4th. April, hears that Villeneuve has again left Toulon.
8th. April, Villeneuve breaks out into the Atlantic.
April to July, chases Villeneuve to the Caribbean and back across the Atlantic.
22nd. July, Admiral Calder engages Villeneuve in indecisive action off Finisterre.
18th. August, Nelson arrives at Portsmouth and returns to Merton.
20th. August, the combined French and Spanish fleets reach Cadiz.
14th. September, rejoins the Victory.
28th. September, joins the British fleet off Cadiz: “The Nelson Touch”.
21st. October, Nelson destroys the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar but is himself killed.
1806 9th. January, Nelson’s funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.