Rear-Admiral of the White Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is known for his scientific accomplishments, particularly the development of a signal code that was adopted by the Royal Navy in 1803.
Early life
Childhood Home Popham was born in Gibraltar on 12 October 1762, the fifteenth child of Joseph Popham, British consul at Tétouan in Morocco, and his first wife Mary, née Riggs. It is likely that the child's first name was chosen to honour Gibraltar's former Governor William Home. Mary Popham died an hour after Home was born, from complications associated with the birth. Nine months later Joseph married Catherine Lamb, who became responsible for raising Home and his siblings. The couple also had six more children. In 1769 Joseph Popham was forced to resign as consul after a personal dispute with the Moroccan Sultan regarding piracy against English merchantmen. The British Government subsequently blamed Joseph Popham for the disagreement, with Gibraltar Governor Edward Cornwallis describing him as an "honest well meaning man" who had met with "little success" and was henceforth "an improper person to serve His Majesty [as consul]." The Popham family returned to England, settling first in Chichester and then Guernsey. Joseph sought further diplomatic postings but was successful only in securing an annual government pension of £200 which was insufficient to cover debts incurred during his Moroccan consulship. The family was forced to rely on income earned by Home's brothers, particularly Stephen Popham who was then a successful barrister. In 1772 Home was sent to Westminster School in London, where he remained for three years. His father Joseph died in Guernsey in 1774. On 3 January 1776 Home was admitted to further study at Trinity College, Cambridge. His education may have been paid for by his brother Stephen or by Captain Edward Thompson, a family friend. There is no record of Home actually residing in Cambridge or attending lectures. In April 1778 he abandoned his studies and enlisted in the Royal Navy as an able seaman aboard Thompson's newly built frigate HMS Hyaena.
Early voyages Popham served under Admiral of the White Sir George Rodney during the American War of Independence. In 1781 he was aboard HMS Shelanagig when a French fleet under François Joseph Paul de Grasse captured her near Saint Lucia. Popham was exchanged and returned to service. In 1783 he was promoted to lieutenant, and was for a time engaged on survey service on the coast of Africa. Between 1787 and 1793 he was engaged in a series of commercial ventures in the Eastern Sea, sailing, first for the Imperial Ostend Company, and then in Etrusco, a vessel that he purchased and in part loaded himself. During this time he took several surveys and rendered some services to the British East India Company, which were officially acknowledged. In 1793, however, his ship was seized, partly on the grounds that he was carrying contraband, and partly because he was infringing the East India Company's monopoly. The value of his loss was put at £70,000, and he was entangled in litigation. In 1805 he obtained compensation to the amount of £25,000. The case was a hard one, for he was undoubtedly sailing with the knowledge of officials in British India.
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