Wikipedia article of the day for May 4, 2026

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 4, 2026 is Maurice Suckling.
Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He saw service in the English Channel and Mediterranean Sea during the War of the Austrian Succession. At the start of the Seven Years' War, he was promoted to captain and given a command on the Jamaica Station. There he played a major part in the Battle of Cap-Français, and fought against the French ship Palmier. Suckling was employed in the aftermath of the capture of Belle Île to destroy French fortifications on the Île-d'Aix and went on half-pay at the end of the war. He was given his next command during the Falklands Crisis in 1770, and took his nephew Horatio Nelson with him. In 1775, Suckling was appointed Comptroller of the Navy by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, the first lord of the Admiralty. Suckling oversaw the Royal Navy's mobilisation when the American Revolutionary War began. In 1776, he was also elected member of Parliament for Portsmouth. He died unexpectedly in 1778.