# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Rous, Henry John

​ROUS, HENRY JOHN (1795–1877), admiral and sportsman, born on 23 Jan. 1795, was second son of John Rous, first earl of Stradbroke, by his second wife, Catherine Maria, daughter and heiress of Abraham Whittaker, esq. Having been educated at Westminster School, which he left in 1807, he entered the royal navy on 28 Jan. 1808 as a first-class volunteer on board the Royal William, under Captain Courtenay Boyle, the flagship of Sir George Montague at Portsmouth. In February 1809 he changed to the Repulse, under Captain Arthur Legge; and in the following November, after having joined in the Flushing expedition, he became midshipman on board the Victory, bearing the flag of Sir James (afterwards Lord) Saumarez [q. v.] In March 1811 he joined the Tonnant, under Captain Sir John Gore, and in the same year, and until promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 18 May 1814, he served in the Mediterranean in the Bacchante, with Captain Sir William Hoste. On the night of 31 Aug. 1812 he joined in the cutting-out boat expedition on the Istrian coast to seize seven Venetian timber vessels protected by the French cruiser La Tisiphone and by a French gunboat; both these vessels were captured. On 6 Jan. 1813 he took part in a boat attack made by the Bacchante and Weasel on five gun-vessels off Otranto. The same year, on 10 June, he was highly commended for his gallant ​duct when commanding the Bacchante yawl, which attacked several large gunboats lying under the guns of Gela Nova. Although exposed to a very heavy fire of grape and musketry, the yawl never stopped until she got alongside the enemy's vessels, which her crew boarded, driving out their defenders with great loss. In 1814 he was concerned in the taking of Rovigno, and of the strong fortresses of Cattaro and Ragusa. On 2 Aug. 1817 he was appointed to his first independent command, that of the Podargus. He removed to the Mosquito on 25 Jan. 1818, returning in her to England, where he was paid off. His next appointments were in 1821 to the Sappho, and in 1822 to the Hind, and in April 1823 he attained the rank of post-captain. From July 1825 until August 1829 he commanded the Rainbow. From November 1834 until the end of 1835 he was commander of the Pique, a 36-gun frigate, which ran ashore off the coast of Labrador in 1835, affording him an opportunity of showing his courage and resource. Writing from the Pique, 13 Oct. 1835, to the secretary of the admiralty, he stated that he ‘left Quebec on 17 Sept. 1835, and stood over on the 22nd to the Labrador coast to avoid the islands on the opposite side. At 10.20 P.M., while the officer of the watch was reefing topsails, the master and myself on the look-out, the ship struck. At 2 A.M. the wind freshened, and she struck again very heavily. … Next morning found us in full sail for England, but on the 27th we lost our rudder.’ The rudder, which had been damaged when the Pique struck, was renewed several times after being carried away, until at last on 13 Oct. the Pique anchored at St. Helen's, having run fifteen hundred miles without a rudder, and requiring to be pumped every hour. On 24 Oct. 1835 a court-martial was held on board the Victory, and Rous's letter was read. The proceedings of the court-martial fully acquitted Rous and Hemsley, the master (Times, 27 Oct.)
This was Rous's last cruise, and his withdrawal from the sea left him at liberty to enjoy the one sport which from boyhood to old age afforded him the greatest delight—horse-racing. From 1836 until he died no great race meeting took place at which he was not present. In 1821 he and his elder brother were elected members of the Jockey Club. In 1838 he became a steward of the club, a position which he repeatedly filled, and for which no man was better fitted. In strength of will and fearlessness of purpose he had very few equals; his one aim was to keep the turf pure and awe offenders. During the last thirty years of his long life he was universally regarded as dictator of the turf. William Day says: ‘The admiral's bold and manly form, erect and stately, dressed in a pea-jacket, wearing long black boots or leggings, with dog-whip in hand, ready to mount his old bay horse for the course, no matter what the weather might be, was an imposing sight at Newmarket.’ About 1855 his assumption of the post of public handicapper was greeted with acclamation, and throughout the racing season he was to be seen posted on the top of the stand on every racecourse, taking notes of the running and condition of horses, which on returning home he wrote into a big book, posting it up as strictly as a merchant keeps his ledger. The first notable instance of his being called in to handicap two famous horses for a match was on the occasion of Lord Eglinton's Flying Dutchman, five years, meeting Lord Zetland's Voltigeur, four years, at York spring races in 1851, when the admiral made the older horse give the younger 8½ lb. During the larger portion of his racing career he managed and made all the matches for the Duke of Bedford's stable at Newmarket. For many years he wrote letters to the ‘Times’ upon racing subjects, which were read with great interest.
Rous entered the House of Commons as conservative member for Westminster in 1841, when the closeness of the contest, and the fact that the same constituency had for half a century returned radicals, showed that his election was due to his personal popularity. In 1846 he was appointed a lord of the admiralty by Sir Robert Peel, but retired from parliament in the same year. He was promoted rear-admiral of the blue on 17 Dec. 1852, of the white on 11 Sept. 1854, and of the red on 12 April 1862; admiral of the blue on 25 Jan. 1863, and of the white on 15 June 1864. He died on 19 June 1877, aged 82. On 2 Jan. 1836 he married Sophia, daughter and heiress of James Ramsay Cuthbert. She died in 1871, leaving no issue.
F. L.