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Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

British admiral (1758–1805)

  • Fame70.6
  • Momentum4.0
  • Wikipedia92.6K
Source-basedRising
Lived 1758–1805, aged 47United Kingdom
United Kingdom flagUnited KingdomPoliticiansPolitician
  • Wikipedia
    85 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1758–1805
    Aged 47
  • Awards
    5
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-08

He died winning Britain's greatest naval battle, shot through the spine on his own quarterdeck at Trafalgar. The square carries his name, the column his likeness, and "England expects that every man will do his duty" remains the line every schoolchild knows.

Biography

About

Born into a modest Norfolk family in 1758, Nelson entered the Royal Navy at his uncle's hand and had his own command by twenty. The American war left him idle and sick, but the French Revolution pulled him back to the Mediterranean, where he lost an eye at Corsica, then his right arm at Tenerife when an amphibious assault went wrong. In 1798 he crushed the French fleet at the Nile; three years later he broke neutral Denmark at Copenhagen. By 1805 he was blockading Cádiz, and when the Franco-Spanish fleet finally came out on 21 October, he met them off Cape Trafalgar. The British won decisively…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
said
First gain the victory and then make the best use of it you can.
— Before the battle of the Nile (1 August 1797)
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
said
Before this time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or Westminster Abbey.
— Before the Battle of the Nile (1 August 1797), as quoted in Life of Nelson, Ch. 5; alternately reported as "Westminster Abbey, or victory!"
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
said
I had rather suffer death than alarm Mrs. Freemantle, by letting her see me in this state, when I can give her no tidings whatever of her husband.
— After being wounded during the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (24 July 1797), as quoted in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
said
Let me alone, I have yet my legs left, and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and get his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is off the better.
— After being wounded during the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (24 July 1797), as quoted in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
said
I cannot, if I am in the field for glory, be kept out of sight.
— Letter to his wife, Frances Nelson (2 August 1796), as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with
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By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
70.6
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum4.0
Historical27.3
Now attention22.1
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
Global rank
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Country rank
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Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence