William Bligh was born in Plymouth on 9 September 1754. The son of a customs officer, he went to sea as a child and became a highly skilled navigator.

In 1776, Bligh was appointed sailing master of HMS Resolution for Captain James Cook’s final voyage to the Pacific. His surveying and navigational work established a professional reputation later overshadowed by the event for which he became famous.

Bligh was given command of HMS Bounty on a voyage to collect breadfruit plants in Tahiti. On 28 April 1789, part of the crew mutinied under Fletcher Christian. Bligh and 18 loyal men were put into the ship’s launch with limited supplies.

Bligh navigated the overloaded open boat for more than 3,600 nautical miles to Timor. The voyage took 47 days and was achieved largely without charts, making it an exceptional feat of open-boat navigation.

The mutiny did not end Bligh’s career. He returned to naval command, fought in later actions and became Governor of New South Wales, where his administration was overthrown during the Rum Rebellion in 1808. He returned to Britain and continued to receive promotion, becoming a vice-admiral in 1814.