Captain the Honourable William Paget (22 December 1769 – September 1794), was a British naval commander and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

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Background

Paget was the second son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, and Jane, daughter of the Very Reverend Arthur Champagné. He was the brother of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...

, Sir Arthur Paget

Arthur Paget (diplomat)

Sir Arthur Paget GCB, PC was a British diplomat and politician.-Family and early life:Arthur Paget was the third son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge and his wife Jane Chamagné daughter of Arthur Chamagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise in Ireland. He was a younger brother of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess...

, Sir Edward Paget

Edward Paget

General Sir Edward Paget GCB was a British Army officer.-Career:Born the fourth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, Edward Paget became a cornet in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1792...

, Sir Charles Paget and Berkeley Paget

Berkeley Paget

The Honourable Berkeley Thomas Paget , was a British politician.-Background:Paget was the sixth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, and Jane, daughter of the Very Reverend Arthur Champagné...

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Naval and political career

Paget served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 and achieved the rank of Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

. On 17 July 1794, while commanding the 50-gun Fourth Rate

Fourth-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...

 HMS Romney

HMS Romney (1762)

HMS Romney was a 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned forty years....

, he captured the French frigate Sibylle

French frigate Sibylle (1792)

The Sibylle was an 38-gun Hébé class frigate of the French Navy. She was launched in 1791 at the dockyards in Toulon and placed in service in 1792...

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In 1790 he was returned to parliament for Anglesey, succeeding his uncle Nicholas Bayly

Nicholas Bayly (Anglesey MP)

-Background:Bayly was a younger son of Sir Nicholas Bayly, 2nd Baronet, and Caroline, daughter of Brigadier-General Thomas Paget. Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, was his elder brother.-Military and political career:...

, a seat he held until his death four years later. His younger brother Sir Arthur Paget succeeded him as MP.