The title was created in 1816 for the prominent naval officer Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth. He had already been created a baronet in the Baronetage of Great Britain on 18 March 1796 for rescuing the crew of the East Indiaman "Dutton". After a succession of commands culminating as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, he was created Baron Exmouth, of Canonteign in the County of Devon, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1814. He was created a Viscount, with the same designation, for the successful bombardment of Algiers in 1816, which secured the release of the 1,000 Christian slaves in the city.