Hood (of Whitley), Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount 1724-1816
English naval commander

The brother of Alexander Hood, he was born in Thorncombe, Dorset. He joined the navy in 1741, and, in command of the Vestal frigate, he took the French frigate Bellona (1759). In 1780, promoted to flag rank, he was sent to reinforce Admiral George Rodney on the North American and West Indian stations, and took part in the battle in Chesapeake Bay (1781). In the West Indies in 1782 he defeated the French off St Kitts, and played a part in the decisive victory off Dominica for which he was made a baron in the Irish peerage. In 1784, standing against Charles Fox, he was elected to parliament, and in 1788 he became a Lord of the Admiralty. In the French Revolutionary Wars he captured Toulon (1793) and Corsica (1794). He was created a viscount in 1796.