George Brydges Rodney, baron, an English admiral, born at Walton-upon-Thames, Surrey, Feb. 19, 1718, died in London, May 21, 1792. At the age of 12 he was taken from Harrow school and sent to sea; in 1739 he became a lieutenant, in 1742 a captain, and in 1748 went to the Newfoundland station as governor and commander-in-chief. In 1752 he returned to England and was elected to parliament, and in 1759 he was created rear admiral. In 1761 he was appointed commander-in-chief at Bar-badoes and the Leeward islands, and reduced the islands of Martinique, Santa Lucia, and Grenada. In 1762 he was made vice admiral, in 1764 a baronet, in 1765 master of Greenwich hospital, and in 1768 was returned to parliament. He resigned his governorship of Greenwich hospital in 1771, on being appointed commander-in-chief at Jamaica. In 1774 he returned to England, but was obliged to seek refuge from his creditors in France. Finally he obtained money sufficient to pay his debts, and with the rank of admiral sailed in 1779 for the Barbadoes station, where he had been again appointed commander-in-chief. His squadron consisted of 22 ships of the line and 8 frigates, and after capturing several Spanish transports and ships of war, he fell in with a Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent in January, 1780, under Don Juan de Langara. This consisted of 11 ships of the line and 2 frigates, and of these 7 were taken or destroyed.

On April 17, 1780, he came up with the French fleet near Martinique, but was prevented from capturing any of their vessels by the refusal of his captains to follow. He however broke through the enemy's lines with a portion of his squadron, and was rewarded with the thanks of both houses of parliament and a pension of £2,000. The same year he was elected to the house of commons from Westminster, and made a K. B. In December, 1780, he made an unsuccessful attack upon St. Vincent. War breaking out between Great Britain and Holland, he took the Dutch island of St. Eustatius without firing a shot, and then Demerara, Essequibo, and Ber-bice. In the autumn of 1781 he returned home, and was created vice admiral of England, and assigned the command of the West Indies. Returning thither, he went in pursuit of the French fleet under the count de Grasse. A partial action took place on April 9, 1782, and a general engagement on April 12. The battle began at 7 o'clock in the morning, and lasted till 6 1/2 in the evening, and the British took seven ships of the line, including the French flag ship, and two frigates.

The whigs meanwhile had come into office, and as Rodney was opposed to that party, an officer was sent to supersede him; when, however, the news of his victory reached England, an express was sent to bring back his successor, but failed to reach him. Rodney arrived in England, Sept. 21, 1782, and received the thanks of both houses of parliament, with an additional pension of £2,000, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Rodney of Rodney Stoke in Somersetshire. - See "Life and Correspondence of Lord Rodney," by his son-in-law, Gen. Godfrey Basil Mundy (2 vols. 8vo, London, 1830).