Wednesday, December 14, 2011

People: The Real Master and Commander

Thomas Cochrane, the tenth Earl of Dundonald, was a man of outstanding courage and determination.  He had a brilliant record as a frigate captain but he was also a fearless fighter for radical causes, a friend of the opressed and a champion of liberty.  When Lord Byron learnt of his arrival in the capital of Peru following the liberation of that country from the colonial rule of Spain he wrote, "there is no man I envy so much as Lord Cochrane.  His entry into Lima, which I see in today's paper, is one of the great events of the day." ~ from the prologue of Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander by David Cordingly

Cochrane, often spoken of as one of Patrick O'Brian's main inspirations for his heroic character Jack Aubrey, was born on this day in 1775.

Header: Miniature by an unknown artist thought to be of a young Lieutenant Thomas Cochrane
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4 comments:

  1. Timmy!December 14, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Ahoy, Pauline! And happy 236th to Lord Cochrane... Long may he be remembered.

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  2. PaulineDecember 14, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    Well said indeed, Timmy! Plus, he'll always be five years older than Uncle Renato...

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  3. Blue Lou LoganDecember 14, 2011 at 8:09 PM

    Damn, another book for the wish list. The author of _Under the Black Flag_ writes about the Captain of the "Speedy"? "Absent friends" to ye, m'lord.

    PS...after distractions, one of which is Dean King's _Harbors and High Seas_ (which was hiding in plain sight on my bookshelf), I'm starting the "brief" version of _HMS Surprise_ and have _Mauritius Command_ in my bag...

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  4. PaulineDecember 15, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    Oh, you'll love this book by Cordingly, mate. It doesn't miss much (except a compromising affair or two) and, though it drags at points when Cordingly is trying to etch out every last detail, it is full of excellent material.

    You've got your hands full in the reading department, though; or so it seems.

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