of the Admiralty. Cockburn was elevated to First Naval Lord in the Wellington ministry in September 1828 and in that capacity sought to improve the standards of gunnery in the fleet, forming a gunnery school at Portsmouth. He resigned when the Government fell from power in November 1830, but remained active in Parliamentary affairs, including leading the opposition to abolition of the Navy Board in 1832. After losing his seat in Parliament at the 1832 general election he returned to sea and became Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, hoisting his flag in the fourth-rate HMS Vernon, in December 1832. Cockburn became First Naval Lord briefly again in the First Peel ministry in December 1834 but resigned when the Government fell from power in April 1835. He then returned to his old post as Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station. Promoted to full admiral on 10 January 1837, he was elected Tory Member of Parliament for Ripon at a by-election in September 1841 and also became First Naval Lord again in the Second Peel ministry later that month. As First Sea Lord he ensured that the Navy had latest steam and screw technology and put emphasis of the ability to manage seamen without the need to resort to physical punishment. He resigned when the Government fell from power in July 1846, became Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom on 10 August 1847 and was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 1 July 1851. He inherited the family baronetcy from his elder brother in February 1852 and died at Leamington Spa on 19 August 1853. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. Cockburn Sound in Western Australia was named after him by Captain James Stirling in 1827. Cockburn Island, at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, was named for him by Sir James Clark Ross during his Antarctic expedition between 1839 and 1843. Cape Cockburn and Cockburn Bay on Nelson Island on the west coast of Canada were named after him. Family In 1809, Cockburn married his cousin Mary Cockburn. The couple had one surviving daughter, Augusta Harriot Mary Cockburn (d. 1869), who married Captain John Cochrane Hoseason. Cockburn's distant cousins are writer Alexander Cockburn (1941-2012) and actress Olivia Wilde. References Sources Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- 1772 births 1853 deaths English people of Scottish descent Military personnel from London First