Allegiance United Kingdom Name Arthur Cochrane Rank Admiral | Years of service 1839 - 1886 Service/branch Royal Navy | |
Born 24 September 1824 ( 1824-09-24 ) Died 20 August 1905(1905-08-20) (aged 80) Commands held HMS Horatio
HMS Niger
HMS Warrior
HMS Cumberland
Pacific Station | ||
Admiral Sir Arthur Auckland Leopold Pedro Cochrane KCB (24 September 1824 – 20 August 1905) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station.
Naval career
Born the third son of the tenth Earl of Dundonald, Cochrane joined the Royal Navy in 1839. He fought at Acre where he was wounded during the Oriental Crisis in 1840 and then served in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War where he devised a method of towing torpedoes to their target using kites in 1855.
Promoted to Captain in 1854, he was given command of HMS Horatio at Sheerness and then of HMS Niger in which he took part in the destruction of the Chinese Fleet in October 1856 during the Second Opium War. He later commanded HMS Warrior and then HMS Cumberland. He was appointed Superintendent of Sheerness dockyard in 1869 and Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in 1873. He retired in 1886. In retirement he was involved in managing the Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company.