Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker CB (1784 – 26 May 1854), sometimes referred to as Hyde Parker III, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in January 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. He also commanded the naval forces at the siege of Machias in September 1814 and took the surrender of the frigate USS President in January 1815 during the War of 1812. He became First Naval Lord in February 1852 and in that capacity he ensured that all new warships being procured were propelled by steam and he also increased the size of the active fleet.
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Early career
The second of three sons of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Anne Parker (née Boteler), Parker joined the Royal Navy in February 1796. After initial training at the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth he joined the fifth-rate HMS Cambrian. He transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Narcissus in 1801, and having been promoted to lieutenant on 24 September 1804, took part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in January 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. He transferred to the frigate HMS Volontaire later that year and, having been promoted to commander on 22 January 1806, took command of the sloop HMS Prometheus in March 1807 for the Copenhagen expedition.
Promoted to captain on 13 October 1807, Parker was given command of the third-rate HMS Monmouth in the Downs in March 1811 and the fifth-rate HMS Tenedos on the North American Station in April 1812. On 3 April 1814, while cruising with HMS Junon, Tenedos chased the USS Constitution into Marblehead, Massachusetts. Parker was keen to follow her in but the senior officer Clotworthy Upton, ordered him to withdraw. Parker commanded the naval forces at the siege of Machias in September 1814 and took the surrender of the frigate USS President in January 1815 during the War of 1812.