Hood , Samuel , 1724-1816 , Viscount Hood , naval officer

Samuel Hood, first Viscount Hood (1724-1816), was a successful naval officer, trusted to train Prince William in his Naval career, and a patron of Horatio Nelson. In 1784, as a popular admiral, he was nominated for the Westminster Parliamentary seat, opposing Charles James Fox. The election was marked by violence and fraud, and Hood described it as 'the most arduous and unpleasant business I ever took in hand' (Rutland MSS, 3.134, quoted in DNB entry cited below). Hood won the election and held the seat until 1796, but disliked Parliament and found London expensive. From 1788 to 1795, he served on the Admiralty board. When war was declared in February 1793 he was appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean.

Source of information: Daniel A. Baugh Michael Duffy, 'Hood, Samuel, first Viscount Hood (1724-1816)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009.

The Royal Aquarium was opened in 1876 for entertainments. The main hall held palm trees, sculptures, tanks of sea creatures and an orchestra. There were also rooms for reading, smoking, and eating; an art gallery; a skating rink; and a theatre. It was hoped that an intellectual clientele would be attracted to the Aquarium, but they did not materialise, and instead it was given over to 'music hall' type entertainments including acrobats and female swimmers performing aquatic feats in the tanks. In 1903 the site was sold and the buildings demolished.

Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).