OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Selby, George

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​SELBY. (Lieut., 1811. f-p., 12; h-p., 31.)
George Selby was born 5 Nov. 1789.
This officer entered the Navy, 6 Jan. 1804, as Third-cl. Yol., on board the Cerberus 32, Capt. Wm. Selby. In the following March he attained the rating of Midshipman; and after serving for some time on the Guernsey station under the flag of Sir Jas. Saumarez, he sailed for the West Indies; where, on the night of 2 Jan. 1807, we find him assisting in the boats and extolled for his unsurpassed bravery at the cutting-out of two of the enemy’s vessels, under a most tremendous fire from the batteries, near Pearl Rock, Martinique, which killed 2 men and wounded 10, including the conducting-officer, Lieut. Wm. Coote, whose gallantry procured him a Commander’s commission. Subsequently to the surrender of the islands of Marie-Galante and Deseada, Mr. Selby, in July, 1808, removed to the Leviathan 74, Capt. John Harvey; under whom, on proceeding to the Mediterranean, he aided, in Oct. 1809, in causing the self-destruction, off Cape Cette, of the French ships-of-the-line Robuste and Lion. On 20 May, 1811, having passed his examination 29 March, 1810, he was confirmed a Lieutenant, four months after he had been ordered to act as such, in the Circe 32, Capt. Edw. Woolcombe, also in the Mediterranean, whence, in March, 1812, he returned, on leave of absence, to England. His last appointments were – 26 Feb. and 8 March, 1813, to the Ville de Paris 110, and Boyne 98, both commanded, in the Channel and Mediterranean, by Capt. Geo. Burlton – 22 Sept. 1814, to the Urgent 14, Capt. Gamaliel Fitzmaurice, again in the Channel – 22 Nov. 1814, to the Cornwallis 74, flag-ship in the East Indies of his former Captain, then Rear-Admiral Burlton – and in Oct. 1815, as First, to the Wellesley 74, Capt. John Bayley. In the Boyne he shared, 13 Feb. 1814, in Sir Edw. Pellew’s rencontre with the French Toulon fleet; on which occasion that ship bore the brunt of the engagement, was for half-an-hour in action, close in-shore, and under the enemy’s batteries, with the Romulus 74, and sustained a loss of 2 men killed and 40 wounded, besides being much damaged in her hull, masts, and rigging. Mr. Selby returned home from the East Indies in the Wellesley in June, 1816, and has since been on half-pay.
The Lieutenant is a Justice of the Peace for co. Northumberland. He married, 21 Oct. 1840, Mary Anne, daughter of the late Rev. Chas. Thomson, Curate of Howick.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Stewart, Robert Arthur

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​STEWART. (Commander, 1845. f-p., 13; h-p., 5.)
Robert Arthur Stewart was born 20 April, 1813.
This officer entered the Navy, 14 Feb. 1829, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Zebra 18, Capt. Rich. Pridham, fitting at Plymouth. He served next, from 16 March following until 6 Feb. 1832, part of the time as Midshipman, in the Despatch 18, Capts. Wm. Bohun Bowyer and Edw. Augustus Frankland, on the coasts of Ireland and Portugal; and from March in the latter year until June, 1834, in the San Josef 110, flag-ship of Sir Manley Dixon and Sir Wm. Hargood at Plymouth. He was then for nearly 11 months employed between Falmouth and Lisbon in the Viper brigantine of 6 guns, Lieut.-Commander Louis Augustus Robinson; and he next, in Sept. 1835, joined the Quail 4, Lieut.-Commander Philip Bisson. On 24 March, 1836, being then on her passage to Lisbon, the latter vessel, while laying to in a severe gale of wind, was struck by a heavy sea, thrown on her beam-ends, and dismasted; she soon became water-logged, and in that state, after the greater part of her crew had been drowned, she remained a complete wreck and perfectly helpless for the space of 10 days; at the expiration of which period she was providentially fallen in with and towed into Jersey. After serving for nine months with Lieuts. Bisson and Henry Pryce Deschamps as Mate in the Bonetta 3, on the coast of Africa, Mr. Stewart returned, in March, 1837, to England, and in the following Dec. was appointed to the Volage 26, Capt. Henry Smith, equipping for the East Indies. In her he assisted in Jan. 1839 at the capture of Aden and in taking possession of the island of Seerah; and being strongly recommended for his gallant conduct, he was promoted, 1 May in the same year, to the rank of Lieutenant. Continuing in the Volage until removed, in June, 1840, to the Hyacinth 18, Capts. Wm. Warren and Geo. Goldsmith, he proceeded in her to China, and was present, 4 Nov. 1839, in an action fought with a fleet of war-junks off Chuenpee. In the Hyacinth he took part, 19 Aug. 1840, in a prompt and decisive attack made upon the works and barracks erected close to the barrier at Macao, in which the Chinese were quickly put to flight, and their intentions against that city frustrated. He assisted also in the operations of March and May, 1841, against Canton; and on 26 of the latter month, in command of the Hyacinth’s pinnace, assisted by the boats of the Modeste 18 and Algerine 10, he proved instrumental in spiking the guns of a heavy battery, whose fire had been directed against the Algerine. He became ultimately First-Lieutenant of the Hyacinth, and in that capacity was employed in a variety of boat-attacks in the Ningpo river. He returned home and was paid off in Nov. 1842; was next, 14 Dec. 1844, appointed to the Eagle 50, Capt. Geo. Bohun Martin, fitting at Chatham; and on 24 Feb. 1845 was advanced to the rank he now holds. He has not been since afloat. Agents – Messrs. Chard.
* ↑ Vide Gaz. 1839, p. 670.
* ↑ Vide Gaz. 1841, p. 1505.
* ↑ Vide Gaz. 1841, p. 2506.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Still, William

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​STILL. (Lieut., 1815. f-p., 16; h-p., 27.)
William Stillentered the Navy, 8 March, 1804, as Ordinary, on board the Queen 98, Capts. Theophilus Jones, Dickson, Fras. Pender, Rich. Thomas, Wm. Shield, Chas. Inglis, and Thos. Geo. Shortland, in which ship he continued employed, off Cadiz and in various parts of the Mediterranean, under the flag of Admirals John Knight, Lord Collingwood, and Geo. Martin, until transferred, in Oct. 180S, to the Lyra 10, Capts. Wm. Bevians, Southey, and Robt. Bloye; under the first-mentioned of whom we find him, in April, 1809, present as Midshipman in Lord Cochrane’s famous attack upon the French shipping in Aix Roads. In May, 1810, he removed to the Daring gun-brig, Lieut.-Commander Campbell, stationed in the Bay of Biscay and Baltic; he served next, from Jan. 1811 until Aug. 1815, on the coast of France and South America, in the Rinaldo 10 and Fly 16, Capts. Anderson, Sir Wm. Geo. Parker, and Baldwin; and in Oct. 1815, after he had been for nearly two months attached at Plymouth to the St. George 98, flag-ship of Sir John Thos. Duckworth, and Jupiter 50, he was presented with a commission dated 7 Sept. .in that year. In the Rinaldo he assisted at the capture, 4 May, 1812, of the Apelles brig-of-war, under the fire of a battery near Boulogne. With the exception of a few months in 1847, he has been employed, since 21 Jan. 1843, as an Agent for Transports afloat. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Stirling, Alexander Garthshore

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​STIRLING. (Retired Commander, 1838. f-p., 10; h-p., 47.)
Alexander Garthshore Stirling entered the Navy, 17 July, 1790, as A.B., on board the Assistance, Capt. Lord Cranstoun; joined next, in Sept. and Nov. 1791, the Vengeance 74, Capt. Thos. Pasley, and Hind 28, Capt. Hon. Alex. Cochrane; was again, from Feb. 1793 until Jan. 1796, employed with Lord Cranstoun in the Raisonnable 64 and Bellerophon 74; and after serving for nine months in the Venerable 74, flag-ship of Lord Duncan, was made Lieutenant, 14 Oct. 1796, into L’Espiègle 16, Capt. Jas. Boorder. He cruized next, for about two years, from 1797 to 1799, in the Endymion 40, Capt. Sir Thos. Williams; and for a short time in 1801 he was employed in the Berschermer 54. While attached to the Bellerophon he was present in Admiral Hon. Wm. Cornwallis’ celebrated retreat 16 and 17 June, 1795. In all the ships above mentioned he served on the Home station. He was placed on the Junior list of Retired Commanders 26 Nov. 1830; and on the Senior 1 Feb. 1838. Agent – Frederick Dufaur.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Stewart, Thomas Bedford

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​STEWART. (Lieutenant, 1842.)
Thomas Bedford Stewart entered the Navy 21 Oct. 1824; passed his examination 29 March, 1831; served in 1841 on the North America and West India station as Mate in the Firefly steamer, Lieut.-Commander Wm. Winniett; attained his present rank 10 Feb. 1842; was appointed, 28 Nov. following, to the Thunderbolt steamer, Capt. Geo. Nathaniel Broke, fitting at Portsmouth; and from 23 March, 1843, until the summer of 1844, was employed in the Coast Guard. Agents – Messrs. Ommanney.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Stewart, William Houston

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​STEWART. (Commander, 1848. f-p., 12; h-p., 0.)
William Houston Stewart, born in Sept. 1821, is eldest son of Capt. Houston Stewart, R.N., C.B.
This officer entered the Navy, 29 April, 1835, on board the Tweed 20, Capt. Thos. Maitland, from which vessel, after visiting the coast of Africa and serving during the civil war on the north coast of Spain, where he frequently landed as Aide-de-Camp to his Captain, he removed, in 1837, to the Carysfort 26, Capt. Henry Byam Martin. In that ship he took part, except in the capture of Sidon, in all the operations of 1840 on the coast of Syria; where he commanded a boat, and was mentioned by Capt. Horatio Thos. Austin, of the Cyclops steamer, for his judgment and gallantry at the bombardment of the strong castle of Gebail. In the attack upon Tortosa he again had charge of a boat, and was twice grazed and severely contused by musket-balls. On the paying off the Carysfort he joined, towards the end of 1841 (he had passed his examination 30 April in that year), the Illustrious 72, flag-ship on the North America and West India station of Vice-Admiral Sir Chas. Adam, by whom he was promoted, 29 June, 1842, to a death-vacancy in the Volage 26, Capt. Sir Wm. Dickson. Of her he was for six months senior Lieutenant in the West Indies. In March, 1843, he went back to the Illustrious; and in Feb. 1844, the latter ship having nearly served her time, he was appointed, at his own request and that of his Captain, John Erskine Loch, First of the Ringdove 16, Capt. Sir Wm. Daniell. He subsequently proceeded to the coast of Africa; where, on being superseded by an officer appointed by the Admiralty, he volunteered (although offered a passage either to England or to his proper station. North America and the West Indies) to serve as a Supernumerary with Commodore Wm. Jones in the Penelope steam-frigate. This he continued to do until a severe attack of fever induced him to yield to the friendly solicitation of his chief; when he returned home in an Indiaman, carrying with him a letter so laudatory of his zeal and merits that the Admiralty allowed him full pay until the period of his arrival. He was then at once, on the application of Capt. Armar Lowry ,Corry, appointed, 8 Jan. 1845, to the Superb 80, fitting at Portsmouth. In Nov. of the same year, his former Captain, Martin, having obtained command of the Grampus 50, Mr. Stewart was permitted, at his request, to join him; and in the early part of the ensuing year he sailed for the Pacific. He came home at the commencement of 1847; was nominated, 29 Dec. in the same year, Flag-Lieutenant, in the Ocean 80, to Sir Edw. Durnford King, Commander-in-Chief at Sheerness; and on 19 May, 1848, was advanced to his present rank.
​When the Superb was fitting out at Plymouth, Commander Stewart jumped overboard, an ebb-tide running at the time, and, nearly at the cost of his own life, saved that of a marine. For this humane and intrepid act he received the thanks of the Royal Humane Society on vellum.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Stirling, Frederick Henry

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​STIRLING. (Lieutenant, 1848.)
Frederick Henry Stirling passed his examination 10 April, 1848; obtained his commission 29 May following; and is now serving with Sir Chas. Napier in the St. Vincent 120.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Stirling, Joseph Francis

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​STIRLING. (Commander, 1843.)
Joseph Francis Stirling entered the Navy 27 June, 1811; obtained his first commission 10 July 1824; was appointed, 8 Nov. 1828, to the Prince Regent 120, flag-ship of Hon. Sir Henry Blackwood at the Nore; served from 31 March, 1831, until 1833, as Flag-Lieutenant, in the St. Vincent 120 and Alfred 50, to Hon. Sir Henry Hotham, Commander- in-Chief in the Mediterranean; and on 29 Nov. 1842 was again appointed to the St. Vincent ​as Flag-Lieutenant to Sir Edw. Codrington at Portsmouth. He attained his present rank 2 Jan. 1843; and has since been on half-pay. Agents – Messrs. Ommanney.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Denny, Anthony Cuthbert Collingwood

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​DENNY. (Lieutenant, 1841.)
Anthony Cuthbert Collingwood Denny entered the Navy 4 April, 1831; passed his examination 6 June, 1838; and for his services as Mate of the Blenheim 72, Capt. Sir Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, during the war in China, where he was present at the capture of Canton, the storming of ​Amoy, and in a boat at the reduction of Chinghae, was rewarded with a commission dated 8 Oct. 1841. He does not appear to have been since afloat.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Dent, Digby

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​DENT. (Commander, 1820. f-p., 16; h-p., 26.)
Digby Dent is son of the late Commander Digby Dent, R.N., who died in command of H.M.S. Saturn, 15 Nov. 1798; grandson of Admiral Sir Digby Dent; and brother of the present Commander C. C. Dent, and of the late Arthur Philip Dent, Esq., Purser, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy, 31 March, 1805, as Midshipman, on board the Achille 74, commanded by the late Sir Rich. King; under whom he served at the battle of Trafalgar, 21 Oct. 1805, witnessed Sir Sam. Hood’s capture of four French frigates off Rochefort, 25 Sept. 1806, and co-operated in the reduction of Flushing in Aug. 1809. In the early ​part of 1811 he accompanied his Captain into the San Josef 110, flag-ship in the Mediterranean of Sir Chas. Cotton, in which he continued until promoted, 6 Feb. 1812, to a Lieutenancy in the Royal Sovereign 100, Capt. Wm. Bedford, stationed in the Channel. In April, 1813, Mr. Dent rejoined Sir R. King in the San Josef; and, from March, 1815, to March, 1816, he next served in the St. George and Impregnable, flag-ships at Plymouth of Sir John Thos. Duckworth. He then removed to the Minden 74, Capt. Wm. Paterson, with whom, after sharing in the battle of Algiers, he proceeded to the East Indies; where, from March to July, 1817, he acted as Captain of the Conway frigate. On the latter date he returned to the Minden as Flag-Lieutenant to his patron Sir R. King. Since his last promotion, which took place 30 Oct. 1820, Commander Dent has been unemployed.
He married, in 1821, a daughter of Colonel Hawker.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Denman, Joseph

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​DENMAN, F.R.S. (Captain, 1841. f-p., 15; h-p., 9.)
The Honourable Joseph Denman, born 23 June, 1810, is second son of the Right Hon. Lord Denman, Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench, by Theodosia Anne, eldest daughter of the late Rev. Rich. Vevers, of Saxby, and grand-daughter of Sir Edmund Anderson, Bart. He is brother-in-law of Capt. R. L. Baynes, R.N., C.B., and of Lieut. Fred. Holland, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy, 7 April, 1823, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Dover 28, Capt. Sam. Chambers, bearing the flag at Leith of Sir John Poo Beresford. In Sept. following he removed, as Midshipman, to the Sybille 48, Capt. Sam. John Pechell, fitting for the Mediterranean station; where, in June, 1826, he served with the boats of that ship in a very sanguinary action with pirates off the island of Candia. After a further attachment of more than four years to the Thetis 46, Capt. Arthur Batt Bingham, and Cruizer and Satellite sloops, Capts. Edw. Griffith Colpoys, John Milligan Laws, and John Parker, on the South American and East India stations, Mr. Denman, who had passed his examination 2 Sept. 1829, obtained a Lieutenant’s commission dated 9 March, 1831. He was next appointed – 1 May, 1832, to the Snake 16, Capt. Wm. Robertson, employed on the North Sea and South American stations – and, 17 Nov. 1834, to the command, off the coast of Africa, of the Curlew 10. Assuming the rank of Commander 7 Aug. 1835, he subsequently, on 26 Dec. 1836 and 17 Nov. 1839, joined the Scylla and Wanderer sloops, in the former of which he served for two years on the Lisbon station. While officiating, in 1840 and 1841, as senior naval officer on that part of the coast of Africa lying between Cape Verde and Cape Palmas, Capt. Denman, owing to most offensive conduct on the part of the slave-dealers at the Gallinas, entered into a treaty with the native chiefs, by virtue of which all the factories were destroyed, the white offenders expelled, and the slaves ready for exportation given up. He then proceeded to Sierra Leone, where the latter, 900 in number, were emancipated. These measures being strongly approved by government, Capt. Denman was rewarded with Post-rank 23 Aug. 1841, immediately after the arrival of the official reports in England. Since that period, however, he has been on half-pay.
The slave-dealers of the Gallinas have since, for damages laid at 360,000l., brought actions against Capt. Denman, which, we believe, are still pending, and are defended at the expense of government. This officer, in Dec. 1842, was appointed a Commissioner for drawing up a code of instructions for H.M. ships employed in the suppression of the slave-trade. In 1844, at his own suggestion, the successful anti-slavery plan of operation, now in adoption on the coast of Africa, was put into force. Capt. Denman married, 12 Feb. 1844, Grace, youngest daughter of J. Watts Russell, Esq., of Islam, co. Stafford, and of Biggin Hall, co. Northampton. Agents – Hallett and Robinson.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Densten, Thomas

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​DENSTEN. (Lieut., 1812. f-p., 26; h-p., 18.)
Thomas Densten entered the Navy, 20 Sept. 1803, as A.B., on board the Plover 18, Capts. Rich. Turner Hancock and Philip Browne, stationed in the Channel; where, in Nov. following, he attained the rating of Master’s Mate. In Jan. 1807 he removed to the Fortunée 36, Capt. Henry Vansittart, off the coast of Ireland; and on next joining the Neptune 98, flag-ship of the Hon. Sir Alex. Cochrane, he assisted at the reduction of Guadeloupe in Feb. 1810. He soon afterwards removed to the Julia 16, Hon. Capt. Gardner, of which sloop he was confirmed a Lieutenant 15 June, 1812. Being appointed, 19 Oct. following, to the Sparrow 16, Capts. Joseph Needham Taylor, Fras. Erskine Loch, and Robt. Walker, he next, in May and Aug. 1813, co-operated in the arduous defence of Castro, and served in a battery at the siege of St. Sebastian. Invaliding home in Nov. 1814, Lieut. Densten remained on half-pay until 18 Oct. 1825; from which period, however, until 1835, we find him employed in the Coast Guard. While next officiating, between 1841 and 1843, as Agent for Transports afloat, he beheld the various attacks on Chapoo, Woosung, Chin-Kiang-Foo, and Nanking. He has filled the post, since 12 Feb. 1844, of Admiralty Agent in a contract mail steam-vessel.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Denyer, James Richard

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​DENYER. (Lieut., 1815. f-p., 8; h-p., 32.)
James Richard Denyer entered the Navy, in July, 1807, as Ordinary, on board the Centaur 74, Capt. Wm. Henry Webley, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore, afterwards Vice-Admiral, Sir Sam. Hood; under which gallant officer, until his death in Dec. 1814, he successively served in the Hibernia 110, Tigre 74, Owen Glendower 36, and Illustrious and Minden 74’s, on the North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean, and East India stations. While in the Centaur, he attended the expedition to Copenhagen in Aug. and Sept. 1807 – beheld, in Dec. of the same year, the surrender of Madeira – assisted, in company with the Implacable 74, at the capture, 26 Aug. 1808, in sight of the whole Russian fleet, near Rogerswick, of the 74-gun ship Sewolod, after a close and perilous conflict, in which the Centaur lost 3 men killed and 27 wounded, and the enemy 180 killed and wounded – and, in Aug. 1809, accompanied the armament sent to the Scheldt. He returned home with Capt. Geo. Henderson in 1815, on board the Malacca 42; and, since his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, which took place on 20 Sept. in that year, has been unemployed.
Lieut. Denyer is married.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Dennys, Lardner

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​DENNYS. (Lieut., 1812. f-p., 11; h-p., 31.)
Lardner Dennys, whose family is of high and ancient extraction, is youngest son of the late Nicholas Dennys, Esq., formerly of Ashley Park, near Tiverton, co. Devon; and grandson of Nicholas Dennys, Esq., for many years M.P. for Barnstaple.
This officer entered the Navy, about April, 1805, as Midshipman, on board the Achille 74, commanded by the late Sir Rich. King. While in that ship, independently of many cutting-out affairs, he was present at the battle of Trafalgar, 21 Oct. 1805; witnessed Sir Sam. Hood’s capture of four French frigates off Rochefort, 25 Sept. 1806; served on shore during the operations connected with the expedition to Walcheren in 1809; and was employed, in 1810, at the siege of Cadiz. In the early part of 1811 he accompanied the same Captain into the San Josef 110, flag-ship in the Mediterranean of Sir Chas. Cotton; and after a subsequent attachment of four months, as Signal Mate, to the Caledonia 120, flag-ship of Sir Edw. Pellew, to whom his knowledge of French signals enabled him on one occasion to intimate the approach of a French squadron, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 6 Feb. 1812. From 25 Nov. foUowmg until June, 1816, Mr. Dennys next served in various parts of the globe on board the Horatio 38, Capts. Lord Geo. Stuart and Wm. Henry Dillon; under the former of whom he assisted at the capture, in Dec. 1813, of the Dutch islands of Schouwen and Tholen. He returned home from the East Indies, in Dec. 1816, as Acting-Captain of the Elk 18; and, being then paid off, has not since been employed.
In 1815 Lieut. Dennys received a reward from Lloyd’s, for services rendered to a ship in danger on the coast of Ireland. He married a great-grand-daughter of Admiral Sir Rich. Haddock; and, on 1 May, 1845, was left a widower with 11 children. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Dennis, James Samuel Aked

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​DENNIS. (Commander, 1841.)
James Samuel Aked Dennis entered the Navy 24 Oct. 1822; passed his examination in 1829; obtained his first commission 28 June, 1838; and was afterwards appointed, 22 Jan. 1839 and 1 March, 1840, to the Hydra and Phoenix steam-vessels, Capts. Anthony Wm. Milward and Robt. Fanshawe Stopford, on the Mediterranean station. For his services as First-Lieutenant of the Phoenix during the operations on the coast of Syria, he was promoted to his present rank 22 Jan. 1841. He has been in command, since 27 Dec. 1845, of the same vessel on the Home and Mediterranean stations.