The story of Nelson

How it begins

On the 29th of September 1758, or nearly a hundred and fifty years ago, Horatio Nelson, "the greatest of our heroes and the dearest to ourselves," was born. His father was a country clergyman, who lived at Burnham Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk. The boy had many brothers and sisters. There were eleven children in the family, only two of whom, however, lived to grow old. Horatio as a child was weak and sickly, and all his life he was delicate. Even after his many years afloat, we are told that he never quite got over the feeling of seasickness.