Horatio Hornblower

Horatio Hornblower was the title character of a popular series of novels and stories about the adventures of a 19th century officer in the Royal Navy, written by C.S. Forester in the mid-20th century.
Jake Sisko carried a PADD copy of the novel Commodore Hornblower in 2372 and read the same part of it several times throughout that year. In the novel, Hornblower moves to the village of Smallbridge and is honorably welcomed by the villagers. With him travels his wife Barbara Wellesley, whose brother was Arthur Wellesley. ()
== Background information ==
's Horatio Hornblower was largely inspired by the real-life British national hero, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, as well as . The fictional character's exploits bear a striking similarity to major aspects of Star Trek and similar-themed science fiction stories in literature, film and television.
Gene Roddenberry's original pitch for Star Trek described the ship's proposed hero (Robert April) as a "space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower". Both tales shared major themes centering on the captain of a ship far from home, depending on his vessel, a loyal crew, and his own considerable wits to resolve military and diplomatic crises threatening his country's interests. While clearly bearing Roddenberry's stamp, the spirit of Hornblower and the age of sailing ships was evident throughout the franchise, and most prominent in original series episodes like , , and , as well as the films and . 
The portrayal of James T. Kirk as a decisive, often inspired, man-of-action was much like Hornblower, and both characters felt distinct unease when not on the bridge of their ships. Both Christopher Pike and Jean-Luc Picard more closely resembled the literary hero's introverted, intellectual nature. In the early episodes of , Kathryn Janeway shared Hornblower's internal struggle over keeping a professional distance from her crew. Spock and William T. Riker share qualities with Hornblower's faithful first officer, Lieutenant Bush – all three men initially more comfortable at their Captain's right hand than as commanders in their own right. In either tale, the Captain would be challenged to use his sailing ship or starship in an inventive new manner as often as ordering it into battle. 
In his audio commentary for the Director's Edition of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, director Nicholas Meyer spoke of his inability to relate to Star Trek until he "suddenly began to think of it as the adventures of Horatio Hornblower in outer space. Once I got that, I said, okay, this about the Navy... this is about gunboat diplomacy". He revisited that interpretation in . In the script for , the antique ship's wheel seen in the 's observation lounge is compared to one Hornblower might have steered.
Worf's holodeck promotion scene in was envisioned as as a way for Star Trek to homage C.S. Forester's given the longstanding ties to his books. 
The (NCC-72015) bears the name of Hornblower's command in the novel .
== Apocrypha ==
The novel Enterprise: The First Adventure by Vonda N. McIntyre referred to James T. Kirk's first command as the USS Lydia Sutherland. The name was an amalgam of two of Hornblower's commands, the HMS Lydia (from the novel ) and HMS Sutherland (from ).
== External links ==
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fr:Horatio Hornblower
Hornblower, Horatio