Sir William Hotham GCB (12 February 1772 – 31 May 1848) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Born into a military family Hotham joined the navy as a captain's servant and able seaman, rising through the ranks with service in the Caribbean and Newfoundland. A lieutenant by the outbreak of war with revolutionary France in 1793, Hotham served initially in the Mediterranean, and had been promoted to his first command by 1794. He saw action with his uncle Lord Hotham's fleet at the Battle of Hyères Islands in 1795, after which he returned home, taking command of the 50-gun HMS Adamant shortly before the mutiny at the Nore. His ship and Admiral Adam Duncan's flagship were the only two deckers to remain loyal, and the only two ships