How did Horatio Nelson enter the British Royal Navy?

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Horatio Nelson Lord Nelson, detail of an oil painting by J.F. Rigaud; in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Eng.

Horatio Nelson entered the British Royal Navy through the influence of his maternal uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, who would later serve as the comptroller of the navy. Following the death of Nelson's mother, Captain Suckling agreed to take the young boy to sea, providing him with his initial opportunity to serve.1