William May (Royal Navy officer), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

William May (Royal Navy officer)

Royal Navy admiral of the fleet

Date of Birth: 31-Jul-1849

Place of Birth: Liscard, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 07-Oct-1930

Profession: naval officer

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Henry May (31 July 1849 – 7 October 1930) was a Royal Navy Officer.
As a junior officer he took part an expedition to rescue Commander Albert Markham who had got into difficulty trying to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound, the sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. May went on to higher command and served as Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy before becoming Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.
He held the office of Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel and in that capacity threatened to resign if the Liberal Government cut the naval estimates any further.
Later he became Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, in which capacity he encouraged innovative ways of organising his huge fleet including the deployment of cruising formations, the use of fast squadrons and tactical command at squadron level rather than fleet level, and then became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.
He served in the First World War purely in an administrative capacity.