Alexander Ball
British admiral and Governor of Malta (1757-1809)
Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander John Ball, 1st Baronet (Italian: Alessandro Giovanni Ball, 22 July 1757 – 25 October 1809) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served as the civil commissioner of Malta from 1799 to 1801 and again from 1802 to 1809. He was born in Ebworth Park in Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire. He was the fourth son of Robert and Mary (Dickinson) Ball and the younger brother of Ingram Ball.
Early naval experience
Ball entered the Royal Navy, and on 7 August 1778, was promoted lieutenant. Three years later he began a close association with Sir George Rodney. Ball was promoted commander on 14 April 1782, two days after his chief's crowning victory, and took command of Germaine. On 20 March 1783 he became captain. With peace restored, Ball was furloughed on half-pay. He then spent a year in France, hoping to learn the language and live economically. Captain Horatio Nelson was at this time by no means favourably impressed by his future friend and comrade, and described Ball as a "great coxcomb".
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This entry incorporates text from “Alexander Ball” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.