Peter Rainier (24 November 1741 – 7 April 1808) was a Royal Navy officer who served during the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. From 1794 to 1805, Rainier was commander-in-chief of the Navy's East Indies Station, covering all seas between the Cape of Good Hope and the South China Sea. Mount Rainier in the state of Washington was named after him by George Vancouver. Naval career Rainier was born in Sandwich, Kent, England, on 24 November 1741. He was the grandson of Daniel Regnier, a Huguenot refugee who had fled France following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and the son of merchant Peter Rainier and his wife Sarah Spratt. Rainier was educated at Tonbridge from 1754, before joining the Royal Navy in 1756. Rainier initially served on the 50-gun fourth rate , but when she was broken up in 1758 he transferred to the 64-gun ship of the line . In that ship he sailed to the East Indies Station, arriving in March, at which point Rainier moved from Yarmouth into the 60-gun fourth rate , also on the station. In Tiger he fought at the Battle of Cuddalore on 29 April, the Battle of Negapatam on 3 August, and in another engagement off the Coromandel Coast on 10 September 1759. In June 1760, he transferred to serve aboard the 64-gun ship of the line , which was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Charles Steevens. In Norfolk Rainier served at the Siege of Pondicherry between September 1760 and January 1761. In April of the latter year Steevens died and was replaced on board by Vice-Admiral Samuel Cornish, under whom Rainier fought at the Battle of Manila between September and October 1762. Rainier returned home from the East Indies in Norfolk in 1764, at which point the ship was paid off. After this, Rainier was not immediately employed by the navy again, and it is possible that he instead went to sea with the East India Company. Despite this, he passed his examination for the rank of lieutenant on 26 May 1768. In January 1774, he was appointed as such to serve on the 28-gun frigate , serving in the West Indies. The commander in chief there, Vice-Admiral Clark Gayton, promoted Rainier to commander on 3 May 1777, giving him command of the 14-gun sloop . On 8 July of the following year, Rainier