Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson

Nelson's (1758-1805) victories during the wars with France gripped the popular imagination, making him the most enduring of British heroes. On the outbreak of war with France, in 1793, he lost an eye in a successful attack on Corsica. His strategic brilliance was confirmed at the Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) and the Battle of the Nile (1798). This was followed by the great controversy of Nelson's career when, because of his passion for Emma Hamilton, he refused to leave Naples to defend Minorca.