Murray Maxwell

Captain Sir Murray Maxwell, CB, FRS (10 September 1775 – 26 June 1831) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Maxwell first gained recognition in the British navy during the successful Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814, during which he destroyed a French supply convoy during the action of 29 November 1811. As a result of achieving further victories in the Mediterranean, Maxwell was given increasingly important positions and, despite losing the frigate HMS Daedalus off British Ceylon in 1813, was appointed to escort ambassador Lord Amherst to China in 1816.

The voyage to China went awry when Maxwell's ship HMS Alceste wrecked in the Gaspar Strait, and he and his crew became stranded on a nearby island. The shipwrecked crew of Alceste ran low on supplies and were repeatedly attacked by Malay pirates, but thanks to Maxwell's leadership suffered no deaths. Eventually rescued by a brig of the East India Company, the party returned to Britain as heroes, with Maxwell being especially commended. He was knighted for his services, and made a brief and unsuccessful foray into politics before resuming his naval career. In 1831 Maxwell was appointed the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, but fell ill and died before he could take up the post.