Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 06.djvu/295

 Brett squadron sent under Rear-admiral Holburne to reinforce Boscawen on the coast of North America. On 19 May 1756 he was appointed to the St. George, and on 1 June was ordered to turn over to the Namur. Three days afterwards a promotion of admirals came out, in which Brett was included, with his proper seniority, as rear-admiral of the white. He refused to take up the commission, and it was accordingly cancelled (Admiralty Minutes, 4 and 15 June 1756). No reason for this refusal appears on record, and the correspondence that must have taken place between Brett and the admiralty or Lord Anson has not been preserved. It is quite possible that there had been some question as to whether his name should or should not be included in the promotion, and that this had come to Brett's knowledge; but the story, as told by Oharnock, of his name having been in the first instance omitted, is contradicted by the official list. From this time Brett lived in retirement, occupying himself, to some extent, in literary pursuits. In 1777-9 he published 'Translations of Father Feyjoo's Discourses' (4 vols. 8vo); and in 1780 'Essays or Discourses selected from the Works of Feyjoo, and translated from the Spanish' (2 vols. 8vo). A letter, dated Gosport, 3 July 1772 (Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 30871, f. 138), shows that he corresponded with Wilkes on friendly terms, and ranked himself with him as 'a friend of liberty.' He speaks also of his wife and children, of whom nothing further seems to be known. He died in 1785.

[Official Documents in the Public Record Office; Charnock's Biog. Nav. v. 67; Gent. Mag. li. 34. lv. 223.]  BRETT, JOHN WATKINS (1805–1863), telegraphic engineer, was the son of a cabinetmaker, William Brett of Bristol, and was born in that city in 1805. Brett has been styled, with apparent justice, the founder of submarine telegraphy. The idea of transmitting electricity through submerged cables is said to have been originated by him in conjunction with his younger brother. After some years spent in perfecting his plans he sought and obtained permission from Louis-Philippe in 1847 to establish telegraphic communication between France and England, but the project did not gain the public attention, being regarded as too hazardous for general support. The attempt was, however, made in 1850, and met with success, and the construction of numerous other submarine lines followed. Brett always expressed himself confident as to the ultimate union of England and America by means of electricity, but he did not live to see it accomplished. He died on 3 Dec. 1863 at the age of 58, and was buried in the family vault in the churchyard of Westbury-on-Trim, near Bristol. Brett published a work of 104 pages, 'On the Origin and Progress of the Oceanic Telegraph, with a few brief facts and opinions of the press' (London, 8vo, 1858), and contributed several papers on the same subject to the Institute of Civil Engineers, of which he was a member. A list of these contributions will be found in the index of the 'Proceedings' of that society.

[Notes and Queries. 3rd ser. viii. 203, &c.; Catalogue of the Ronalds Library.] ' BRETT, PEIRCY (1709–1781), admiral, was the son of Peircy Brett, a master in the navy, and afterwards master attendant of the dockyards at Sheerness and at Chatham. After serving his time as volunteer and midshipman, he was, on 6 Dec. 1734, promoted to the rank of lieutenant and appointed to the Falkland with Captain the Hon. Fitzroy Lee. In her he continued till July 1738, when he was appointed to the Adventure, and a few months later to the Gloucester, one of the ships which sailed under Commodore Anson for the Pacific in September 1740. On 18 Feb. following Brett was transferred to Anson's own ship, the Centurion, as second-lieutenant, and in this capacity he commanded the landing party which sacked and burned the town of Paita on 13 Nov. 1741. After the capture of the great Acapulco ship, Brett became first-lieutenant, by the promotion of Saumarez, and was appointed by Anson to be captain of the Centurion on 30 Sept. 1743, when he himself left the ship on his visit to Canton. On the arrival of the Centurion in England the admiralty refused to confirm this promotion, although they gave Brett a new commission as captain dated the day the ship anchored at Spithead, and a few months later, under a new admiralty of which Anson was a member, the original commission was as confirmed, 29 Dec. 1744 [see ].

In April 1745 Brett was appointed to command the Lion, 60 guns, in the Channel; and on 9 July, being then off Ushant, he fell in with the French ship Elisabeth of 64 gun's, a king's ship, nominally in private employ, and actually engaged in convoying the small frigate on board which Prince Charles Edward was taking a passage to Scotland. Between the Lion and Elisabeth a severe action ensued, which lasted from 5 p.m. till 9 p.m., by which time the Lion was a wreck, with 45 killed and 107