SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY English admiral, was born at Westminster on July 21, 1764, and entered the navy. In Jan. 1780 he was appointed lieutenant of the "Alcide" (74) after serving at Cape St. Vincent under Rodney; and in May 1782 was made commander of the "Fury" sloop, and promoted captain. He was knighted for his services (179o-92) in advising the king of Sweden during the war with Russia. In 1793 he assisted Lord Hood in the attempt to burn the enemy's ships at Toulon. In 1796 he was captured while hunting French privateers in the Channel, and imprisoned in Paris, whence he made his escape in 1798. In 1799 he left Constantinople, where he was plenipotentiary jointly with his brother, and hastened to the relief of St. Jean d'Acre, compelling Napoleon to raise the siege in May. For this exploit he received an annuity of f ',coo. Smith co-operated with Abercromby in Egypt, and was wounded at Aboukir. Promoted rear-admiral of the blue in 18o5, he was sent
in 1806 to Sicily and Naples, and relieved Gaeta and captured Capri. Proceeding to Malta in 1807, he destroyed the Turkish fleet off Abydos, and in the following November blockaded the Tagus and assisted the Portuguese royal family to embark for Rio de Janeiro. Recalled from Rio de Janeiro, where he had been sent as commander-in-chief (1808), owing to his quarrel with the British minister, he was made a vice-admiral of the blue (I8I0) and in 1812 was sent to the Mediterranean, as second in command under Sir Edward Pellew. Made K.C.B. in 1815, and admiral in 1821, he died on May 26, 1840, at Paris. His self-assertion brought him into conflict with many of his con temporaries, including Nelson and Sir John Moore, but he was a daring and ingenious officer.