Changes: Horatio Nelson

Revision as of 11:05, 2 January 2006

Horatio Nelson was a celebrated admiral of His Majesty's Royal Navy in the early 19th century on Earth. From the flagship HMS Victory, he led the British against joint French and Spanish forces in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, but the British ultimately won the decisive naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

While deciding whether or not to retreat from a Borg cube laying in wait for the Enterprise-D in 2366, Captain Picard recalled to Guinan that Nelson toured Victory just before the battle. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I")

The fictional hero Horatio Hornblower, whom Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry cited as a model for his show's lead character, is considered to be a namesake inspired by Horatio Nelson. Both of these probably influenced the naming of starship USS Horatio.

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+'''Horatio Nelson''' was a celebrated [[admiral]] of [[United Kingdom|His Majesty's]] [[Royal Navy]] in the early [[19th century]] on [[Earth]]. From the [[flagship]] ''[[HMS Victory]]'', he led the British against joint [[France|French]] and [[Spain|Spanish]] forces in the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] in [[1805]]. Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, but the British ultimately won the decisive naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.
-'''Horatio Hornblower''' was the fictional title character of a series of popular novels and stories set during the late [[early history|18th]] and early [[19th Century]] Napoleonic Wars,  written by C.S. Forester in the mid-[[20th Century]]. Hornblower commanded sailing ships of [[United Kingdom|His Majesty's]] [[Royal Navy]], often under ambiguous orders and far from home. He depended on his vessel's capabilities, a loyal crew, and his own considerable wits to resolve military and diplomatic crises threatening his country's interests.
+While deciding whether or not to retreat from a [[Borg]] [[Borg cube|cube]] laying in wait for the [[Enterprise-D]] in [[2366]], [[Captain]] [[Jean-Luc Picard|Picard]] recalled to [[Guinan]] that Nelson toured ''Victory'' just before the [[List of military conflicts|battle]]. ([[TNG]]: "[[The Best of Both Worlds, Part I]]")
-==Background==
-The series can be easily compared to aspects of ''[[Star Trek]]'', and is often cited as an inspiration. Hornblower's character was modeled after the real-life British national hero [[Admiral]] [[Horatio Nelson]].
+:''The fictional hero Horatio Hornblower, whom ''[[Star Trek]]'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]] [[Star Trek is...|cited]] as a model for his show's lead character, is considered to be a namesake inspired by Horatio Nelson. Both of these probably influenced the naming of starship [[USS Horatio|USS ''Horatio'']].''
-[[Gene Roddenberry]]'s [[Star Trek is...|original pitch]] for ''[[Star Trek]]'' described the ship's [[Captain]]  [[Robert April|Robert April]] as a ''"space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower"''.  While the Stark Trek universe strongly bore the stamp of Roddenberry's own imagination, the spirit of Hornblower and Age of Sail naval adventures are prominent in [[TOS|original series]] episodes like [[The Corbomite Maneuver]], [[Balance of Terror]], [[Arena]] and [[The Doomsday Machine]], as well as the films [[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]] and [[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]].
+[[Category:Humans|Nelson, Horatio]]
-The portrayal of [[James T Kirk]] as a decisive man of action was very close to Hornblower, though Kirk's romantic appetite was far more prodigious. The literary hero's introverted, intellectual nature was more closely reflected in [[Jean-Luc Picard]]. Hornblower's [[first officer]], Lieutenant Bush, resembled aspects of [[Spock]] and [[William Riker]], men initially more comfortable at their Captain's right hand than as commanders in their own right. Hornblower's innovative exploitation of his vessel's capabilities (the cream of early 19th century human technology), could be considered an ancestor of Star Trek's notorious [[technobabble]].
-In his audio commentary for the [[Star_Trek_II:_The_Wrath_of_Khan_%28Director%27s_Edition%29|Director's Edition]] of [[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]], director [[Nicholas Meyer]] spoke of his inability to relate to Star Trek until he ''"suddenly began to think of it as the adventures of Horatio Hornblower in outer space. Once I got that, I said, okay, this about the Navy... this is about gunboat-diplomacy"''. He revisited that interpretation in [[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]].
-The non-canon novel ''[[Enterprise: the First Adventure]]'' by [[Vonda N. McIntyre]] referred to [[James T. Kirk]]'s first command as the USS ''Lydia Sutherland''. The name was an amalgam of two of Hornblower's commands, the HMS ''Lydia'' and HMS ''Sutherland''.
-{{pna-cite}}