Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker Bt, GCB
Portrait of Admiral Sir William Parker
Born	(1781-12-01)1 December 1781 Almington, Staffordshire, England
Died	13 November 1866(1866-11-13) (aged 84) Shenstone Lodge, Staffordshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1793–1857
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands	HMS Stork HMS Alarm HMS Amazon HMS Warspite HMS Prince Regent East Indies and China Station Mediterranean Fleet Plymouth Command
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Portuguese Civil War First Opium War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, GCB (1 December 1781 – 13 November 1866), was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain's servant he took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June in June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and, as a captain, he participated in the capture of the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule at the action of 13 March 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. He was detached on an independent command on the Tagus in September 1831 with a mission to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War. As Commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station, he provided naval support at various actions between 1841 and 1842 during the First Opium War. Appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in February 1845, he was briefly (for a week) First Naval Lord in the First Russell ministry from 13 July 1846 to 24 July 1846 but gave up the role due to ill health before returning to his command with the Mediterranean Fleet.