SIR ALEXANDER JOHN BALL
Born July 22, 1757, Ebworth Park, Painswick, Gloucestershire, England—died October 25, 1809, Attard, Malta), rear admiral, a close friend of Admiral Lord Nelson, who directed the blockade of Malta (1798–1800) and served as civil commissioner (governor) of the island (1802–09).
Ball served under Admiral Sir George Rodney in the West Indies and was present at Rodney’s great victory over the French in the Battle of the Saints off Dominica (April 12, 1782). Promoted to captain in 1783, Ball did not receive his first command until 1790. On May 21, 1798, he saved Lord Nelson’s flagship from running ashore after being dismasted in a storm, and the two became close friends.
On February 9, 1799, while he was blockading Malta, the island’s legislature elected him president and commander in chief. After the French had surrendered Malta (September 1800), the British Admiralty withheld Ball from naval service despite Nelson’s plea in his favour. That year he was created a baronet and later became the de facto governor of Malta, where he remained the rest of his life. He was praised highly by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was his secretary on Malta in 1804.
From Britannika, This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.
