Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay, GCB

Lord John Hay GCB (August 23, 1827 Geneva, Switzerland – May 4, 1916) was a British politician and Admiral of the Fleet.

He was the fourth son of George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale. He joined the Royal Navy in 1839, and served in the China War in 1842 and before Sebastopol. He was Commodore of the East India Station from 1861-1863.

In 1876 he married Christina Lambert, youngest daughter of Nathaniel Grace Lambert, MP, of Buckinghamshire.

He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Wick from 1857-1859, and for Ripon from 1866–1871. He was Fifth Naval Lord, April–May 1866; Fourth Naval Lord, May–July 1866; Third Naval Lord, 1868–1871; Second Naval Lord, 1880–1883; First Naval Lord, 1886; and Admiral of the Fleet, 1888.

He commanded the Channel Squadron from 1877–1879; took possession of and administered Cyprus, 1878; commanded Mediterranean Station, 1883–1886; Commander-in-Chief of Devonport in 1887–1888. He retired in 1897.

He was awarded the GCB in 1886.

He was said to be the role model for the Admiral in the musical "The King & I" as he had served in the actions against the Borneo pirates, and was well known at the that time in the area