Sir Henry Jackson | |
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![]() Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Jackson | |
Born | Barnsley, Yorkshire | 21 January 1855
Died | 14 December 1929 Hayling Island, Hampshire | (aged 74)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1868–1924 |
Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
Commands | First Sea Lord Royal Naval College, Greenwich 6th Cruiser Squadron HMS Vernon HMS DuncanHMS Vulcan HMS Juno |
Battles/wars | Anglo-Zulu War First World War |
Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit (Spain) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan) |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Bradwardine Jackson, GCB, KCVO, FRS (21 January 1855 – 14 December 1929) was a British Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Anglo-Zulu War he established an early reputation as a pioneer of ship-to-ship wireless technology. Later he became the first person to achieve ship-to-ship wireless communications and demonstrated continuous communication with another vessel up to three miles away. He went on to be Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, then Director of the Royal Naval War College and subsequently Chief of the Admiralty War Staff. He was advisor on overseas expeditions planning attacks on Germany's colonial possessions at the start of the First World War and was selected as the surprise successor to Admiral Lord Fisher upon the latter's spectacular resignation in May 1915 following the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He had a cordial working relationship with First Lord of the Admiralty (and former Prime Minister) Arthur Balfour, but largely concerned himself with administrative matters and his prestige suffered when German destroyers appeared in the Channel, as a result of which he was replaced in December 1916.