24 Facts About Frederick Marryat

Frederick Marryat is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy.

Frederick Marryat is remembered for his children's novel The Children of the New Forest.

Frederick Marryat was born at Great George Street in Westminster, London.

Frederick Marryat's father was Joseph Marryat, a "merchant prince" and member of Parliament, as well as slave owner and anti-abolitionist, and his mother was Charlotte, nee von Geyer.

The Imperieuse shifted to operations in the Scheldt in 1809, where Frederick Marryat contracted malaria; he returned to England on the 74-gun HMS Victorious.

Frederick Marryat sailed as a passenger to Bermuda in the 64-gun HMS Atlas, and from there to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the schooner HMS Chubb, where he joined the 32-gun frigate HMS Aeolus on 27 April 1811.

Frederick Marryat saved one of the crew from the sea.

Frederick Marryat led four barges from the Newcastle on a raid against Orleans, Massachusetts on 19 December 1814, the last combat in New England during the war.

Frederick Marryat was promoted to commander on 13 June 1815, just as the war ended.

Frederick Marryat invented a lifeboat, which earned him a gold medal from the Royal Humane Society and the nickname "Lifeboat".

Frederick Marryat developed a practical, widely used system of maritime flag signalling, known as Marryat's Code, based on his experience in the Napoleonic Wars escorting merchant ships in convoys.

Frederick Marryat described a new gastropod genus Cyclostrema with the type species Cyclostrema cancellatum.

In 1820, Frederick Marryat commanded the sloop HMS Beaver and temporarily commanded HMS Rosario in order to carry despatches to England announcing the death of Napoleon on Saint Helena.

Frederick Marryat took the opportunity to make a sketch of Napoleon's body on his deathbed; this was later published as a lithograph.

In 1823, Frederick Marryat was appointed to HMS Larne and took part in an expedition against Burma in 1824, which resulted in large losses from disease.

Frederick Marryat was promoted to command the 28-gun HMS Tees, which gave him the rank of post-captain.

Frederick Marryat lived in Brussels for a year, travelled in Canada and the United States, and moved to London in 1839, where he was in the literary circle of Charles Dickens and others.

Frederick Marryat was in North America in 1837 when rebellion broke out in Lower Canada, and served with the expeditionary force sent to suppress it.

Frederick Marryat was named a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his lifeboat, signals system and other achievements.

Frederick Marryat's novels are typical of their time, with concerns of family connections and social status often overshadowing the naval action.

Frederick Marryat based much of his fiction on his 25 years' experience at sea.

In 1839, Frederick Marryat published his Diary in America, a travelogue that reflects his criticisms of American culture and society.

The book and Frederick Marryat's effigy were each burned in public.

The works of Frederick Marryat are considered by the maritime historians of today to be a reliable source on the operation and characteristics of the sailing vessels of his time.