Samuel Pechell

Who was Samuel Pechell?

Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel John Brooke Pechell, 3rd Baronet CB, KCH, FRS was a prominent British Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century. Although he served in several celebrated naval actions of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars his most important achievements were made while serving as a Lord of the Admiralty, pioneering the science and instruction of rapid and accurate gunnery in the Royal Navy through training facilities and manuals.

In addition to his work at the Admiralty, Pechell served in the House of Commons for two constituencies and was on good terms with King William IV, who supported his efforts to improve standards of gunnery and returned him to the Admiralty in 1839 after a five year absence caused by his support for the Whig government. In 1826 he inherited the Pechell Baronetcy from his father, but died childless and the title passed to his brother George.