Sir Richard Bickerton , 1st Baronet Rear Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton , 1st Baronet ( 23 June 1727 – 25 February 1792 ) was a British naval officer who finished his career as a rear admiral in the British Royal Navy and was ennobled as the first Baronet Bickerton of Upwood . He served in several naval engagements , and died Commander - in - Chief , Plymouth in 1792 . His son Richard Hussey Bickerton , who likewise rose to flag rank in the British Navy , succeeded to the baronetcy following his death . Naval career . Richard Bickerton was educated at Westminster School , and was first commissioned as a Lieutenant in the British Navy on 8 February 1746 at the age of 18 . He served as a Lieutenant aboard the 60 - gun fourth rate " Worcester " in 1748 . On 2 August 1758 he was appointed Master and Commander of the fireship " Etna " , and then on 21 August 1759 promoted to the rank of Captain and appointed to command the 74 - gun third rate " Culloden " . However , he was swiftly removed into the much smaller 20 - gun sixth rate " Glasgow " , in command of which he sailed on 25 April 1760 for the West Indies . Returning to England in 1761 , he commanded the similar 20 - gun " Lively " for a short while . In 1767 Bickerton was appointed to command the 30 - gun fifth rate " Renown " , again for employment to the West Indies . At the start of 1771 he took command of the 74 - gun third rate " Marlborough " , remaining in this post for nearly three years . He was knighted on 24 June 1773 . He subsequently commanded the Royal yacht " Princess Augusta " , and from October 1776 the 74 - gun third rate " Terrible " ; while aboard the latter he captured the American privateer " Rising States " on 15 April 1777 while cruising off Ushant . He was created the 1st Baronet Bickerton of Upwood on 29 May 1778 , and while still commanding the " Terrible " distinguished himself at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 . In early 1780 Bickerton took command of the new 74 - gun " Fortitude " , and later was re - appointed to the Royal yacht " Princess Augusta " , before hoisting his broad pendant — as a commodore — aboard the 80 - gun " Gibraltar " in January 1781 . He sailed from England on 6 February 1782 in command of a squadron of six third rates and two frigates , escorting a convoy to India . In the Indian Ocean , he joined the fleet commanded by Vice - Admiral Sir Edward Hughes , and took part in the Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783 . Returning to England upon the conclusion of hostilities , he hoisted his broad pendant aboard the 50 - gun fourth rate " Jupiter " for a brief period as Commander - in - Chief on the Leeward Islands station . Bickerton reached flag rank on 24 September 1787 , when he was appointed Rear Admiral of the Blue , and was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White on 21 September 1790 , at that time flying his flag aboard the 90 - gun second rate " Impregnable " . In the General Election of 1790 , he was elected to the British House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Rochester in Kent , retaining that seat until his death from an apoplectic fit on 25 September 1792 . At the time of his death he was Commander - in - Chief , Plymouth , flying his flag in the 98 - gun second rate " St . George " . Family . In 1758 Bickerton had married Mary Anne Hussey , and the marriage produced two sons and two daughters , the former including Richard Hussey Bickerton , an equally successful naval officer who became the 2nd Baronet upon his father ' s death , and rose even further in the Navy ' s ranks to finish as Admiral of the Red .