William Robert Broughton (22 March 176214 March 1821) was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS Chatham as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through the Pacific Ocean led by Captain George Vancouver in the early 1790s. Personal life William Robert Broughton was born on 22 March 1762. His father, Charles Broughton, was a Hamburg merchant and his mother, Anne Elizabeth, was the daughter of Baron William de Hertoghe. Broughton married his cousin, Jemima, on 26 November 1802. They had four children. On 12 March 1821, while in Florence, Broughton suffered an angina attack and died two days later. He was buried in the English burial ground in Leghorn. Early career Broughton's name was added to the muster of the yacht Catherine on 1 May 1774, as captain's servant but Broughton first went to sea on 18 November when he joined the 10-gun brig-sloop, Falcon which sailed for North America, under the command of Captain John Linzee. On 14 February 1777, Broughton, by then a midshipman, transferred to Harlem under Lieutenant John Knight. He was appointed to the 64-gun Eagle on 1 July 1778, then in December he joined the seventy-four, Superb as a Master's mate and began service in the East Indies. On 12 January 1782, Broughton was promoted to lieutenant aboard the 68-gun Burford commanded by Captain Peter Rainier. When Burford paid off on 19 July 1784, Broughton went ashore and did not serve again for almost four years. Broughton resumed his career on 23 June 1788, aboard the 18-gun sloop, Orestes, under Manley Dixon, serving in The Channel and later, the Mediterranean. On 13 May 1790, he moved to and renewed his acquaintance with John Knight, her captain. Broughton's first command came on 18 December when he was given command of the brig, Chatham and asked to accompany George Vancouver in his exploration of the north-west Pacific. Vancouver Expedition En route to the Pacific Northwest the expedition spent some time exploring the South Pacific and whilst sailing separately from Vancouver, in November 1791, Broughton and his crew became the first Europeans to sight both The Snares and the Chatham Islands on the 23rd and 29th respectively. The former group contains an island that still bears Broughton's name. Sometime after their arrival in North America, in 1792, Broughton was given the task of