Austin, Horatio Thomas, 1801-1865

Horatio Thomas Austin was born in 1801 in England, the son of an official in the Chatham dockyard. In 1813, he joined the Navy under the patronage of Captain Sir Thomas Hardy, soon afterwards serving in Ramillies during the American War of 1812-1814. For the next nine years, he served as midshipman off the coast of Africa, in the English Channel and on the South America station. In 1824, Austin joined the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition, 1824-1825 (leader William Edward Parry), as first lieutenant in HMS Fury under Captain Henry Hoppner.

Austin was appointed to another scientific exploring expedition in 1827, bound for the Caribbean and Antarctic, serving as first lieutenant in the surveying vessel, Chanticleer, before succeeding to the acting command in 1831 after Captain Henry Foster was drowned. Promoted commander on his return in 1831, he commanded in European waters, later undertaking research on the use of steam vessels in the Navy.

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