Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane (5 February 1789 – 19 October 1872) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, he captured the French ship Favourite off the coast of Dutch Guiana and then took part in various actions including the capture of the Virgin Islands from Danish forces, the capture of the French island of Martinique and the capture of the French archipelago of Îles des Saintes during the Napoleonic Wars. He also took part in the burning of Washington and the attack on Baltimore during the War of 1812. Cochrane went on to serve as colonial governor of Newfoundland and then as Member of Parliament for Ipswich before becoming Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station and then Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. Early career Born the son of Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Maria Cochrane (daughter of David Shaw and widow of Sir Jacob Wheate, 5th Baronet), Cochrane joined the Royal Navy in June 1796. He was appointed as a first class volunteer to the fifth-rate HMS Thetis on the North American Station and, having been promoted to midshipman, transferred to the third-rate HMS Ajax in the Channel Squadron early in 1800. In HMS Ajax, he saw action supporting French Royalist exiles at Quiberon in spring 1800, escorting troops for an abortive landing at Belle Île in May 1800 and taking part in the equally unsuccessful Ferrol Expedition in August 1800, before landing troops in Egypt in preparation for the more successful Battle of Alexandria in March 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Cochrane transferred to the third-rate HMS Northumberland, on the north coast of Spain, in early 1803 and, having been promoted to lieutenant on 14 June 1805, transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Jason in the West Indies, where his father was serving as Commander-in-Chief Leeward Islands. His rapid rise through the ranks clearly reflects his father's patronage. Promoted to commander on 24 September 1805, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Nimrod in September 1805 and commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Jason in January 1806. In HMS Jason, having been promoted to captain on 23 April 1806. He captured the French ship Favourite off the coast of Dutch Guiana in January 1807 and then took part in the capture of the Virgin Islands from Danish forces in December 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars. He became commanding