Charles Adam Admiral Sir Charles Adam , KCB ( 6 October 1780 – 19 September 1853 ) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars . He later commanded the royal yacht , " Royal Sovereign " , and was the Member of Parliament for UK Parliament constituency . He held the office of First Naval Lord three times . In that capacity he dealt ably with the economies of a peacetime budget , provided naval support for the expulsion of Muhammad Ali ' s forces from Syria in 1840 and ensured technological progress continued . He was also the father of William Patrick Adam , a colonial administrator and Liberal politician . Naval career . Born the second son of William Adam ( of Blair Adam ) and Eleanora Adam ( the daughter of Charles Elphinstone , 10th Lord Elphinstone ) , Adam joined the Royal Navy in 1790 . He served under his uncle , Admiral Lord Keith , in the Mediterranean Fleet and during the capture of the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch . He was made acting lieutenant by Keith in the third - rate on the East Indies Station in 1795 . Promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant on 8 February 1798 , to commander on 16 May 1798 and to captain on 12 June 1799 , Adam was given command of the frigate " Sybille " . While commanding " Sybille " , he captured the French " Chiffonne " under difficult circumstances at Mahé in the Seychelles . Adam returned from the East Indies in 1802 , and on 23 May 1803 , was given command of the captured " Chiffonne " , which operated in the North Sea under Lord Keith until 1805 . He commanded the fifth - rate " Resistance " from 27 August 1805 until 6 April 1810 , and from 1811 until 1813 , operated off the coast of Spain in command of the third - rate " Invincible " . He briefly commanded the second - rate from 16 May 1814 to 29 June 1814 , ending his active service . Administrative career . After the war , Adam twice commanded the royal yacht , " Royal Sovereign " , from 15 December 1814 until 7 February 1816 as acting captain and from 20 July 1821 to 25 May 1825 as captain . This appointment reflected the political influence of his father . During this period , in 1822 , he married Elizabeth Brydone , by whom he had several children , including William Patrick Adam . Adam was promoted rear admiral on 27 May 1825 . From 1831 until 1841 , he was Member of Parliament for UK Parliament constituency , a seat previously held by several members of his family . He briefly served as First Naval Lord in the Wellington caretaker ministry from 1 November 1834 to 23 December 1834 . He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 10 January 1835 and was again appointed First Naval Lord , this time in the Second Melbourne ministry , on 25 April 1835 . He also became Lord Lieutenant and Sheriff Principal of Kinross on 1 April 1839 . Adam was a friend of Lord Auckland and brother - in - law to Lord Minto , both of whom served as First Lord of the Admiralty during his time in office , fostering a close working relationship . He was also on good terms with Lord Palmerston , the Foreign Secretary . During his tenure , the Admiralty Board dealt ably with the economies of a peacetime budget , which his Whig loyalties prevented him from questioning . The one major naval campaign of the era was the expulsion of Muhammad Ali ' s forces from Syria in 1840 , an able demonstration of the continued strength of the Royal Navy . During this time , technological progress continued at the Admiralty , with the decision to adapt Francis Pettit Smith ' s screw propeller , and the new battleship designs of Sir William Symonds in 1841 . During his tenure on the Board , Adam was promoted to vice admiral on 10 January 1837 . After leaving the Board , Adam resumed a naval command . From 17 August 1841 until 27 December 1844 , he was commander - in - chief of the North America and West Indies Station , aboard ( flag - captain John Erskine ) . On 24 July 1846 , soon after the reappointment of Lord Auckland as First Lord of the Admiralty , he became First Naval Lord ( in the First Russell ministry ) for the third and last time . He retired the next year , on 20 July 1847 , to become Governor of Greenwich Hospital , and was promoted admiral on 8 January 1848 . Adam died at Greenwich on 16 September 1853 .