Royal Naval Biography/Hood, William John Thompson
WILLIAM JOHN THOMPSON HOOD, Esq.
[Commander.]
Brother to Commander Silas Thompson Hood.
This officer passed his examination at Plymouth, May 5th, 1813; obtained his first commission on the 25th Feb. 1815; And was promoted to the rank of commander while serving as senior lieutenant of the Hyperion frigate, Captain W. J. Mingay, coast guard dépôt at Newhaven, Jan. 9th, 1828. Previous to his latter advancement, he had received the thanks of the Board of Longitude, and been presented by the Society of Arts with the Gold Vulcan Medal, for an important improvement in the naval quadrant; and the large Silver Medal for his invention of an ice saw, for facilitating the progress or escape of ships navigating the high polar latitudes, when surrounded by field ice.
In 1828, the Society of Arts presented him with a second large Silver Medal, for his method of constructing a floating bridge, from the materials to be found on board all ships of war and vessels generally. In 1830, he received a similar honorary reward for his invention of an improved rocket staff. Whilst at Newhaven, he also forwarded to the Admiralty a model of an ice boat, and a plan for navigating the polar seas.