Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, GCB, OM, GCVO, PC (30 April 1840 – 2 March 1929) was a Royal Navy officer.

During the Boxer Rebellion, he led an expedition of 2,000 sailors and marines from Western and Japanese warships to relieve the besieged diplomatic legations in Peking.

[2] Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 4 May 1859, he returned to China and, during the voyage, was awarded the Royal Humane Society medal for an unsuccessful attempt to save a marine who had fallen overboard.

[2] Promoted to lieutenant on 11 February 1860, he joined the frigate HMS Chesapeake, flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, China Station, and saw action again at the Battle of Taku Forts in August 1860.

[4] Promoted to captain on 13 March 1873,[5] Seymour spent a year at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and then became commanding officer of the troopship HMS Orontes.

[4] He briefly commanded the converted liner SS Oregon when Russian forces seized Afghan territory in March 1885 during the Panjdeh Incident.

[4] He went on to be flag captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in May 1886 and, having been appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887,[6] he became assistant to the Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves in December 1887.

On 9 June 1900 Sir Claude MacDonald the British Minister cabled Seymour, reporting that the situation in Beijing "was hourly becoming more serious" and that "troops should be landed and all arrangements made for an advance to Peking at once.

[13] On the first day the allied force travelled twenty five miles without incident, crossing a bridge at Yancun over the Hai River unopposed although Chinese General Nie Shicheng and thousands of his soldiers were camped there.

On 14 June 1900, several hundred Boxers armed with swords, spears, and clumsy gingals attacked Seymour twice and killed five Italian sailors who had been acting as pickets.

As a result of the attack in Dagu, the Chinese government decided to resist Seymour's expedition and kill or expel all foreigners in northern China.

However, the need to care for the wounded, a shortage of supplies and ammunition, and the likelihood of additional Chinese attacks forced Seymour and his officers to decide on a retreat to Tianjin.

[22] Promoted to full admiral on 24 May 1901,[23] Seymour arrived back at Portsmouth where he was welcomed by thousands of people lining the beach and pier[24] and honoured by a visit by the Lords of the Admiralty to his flagship.

[33] Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 20 February 1905[34] and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 15 May 1906,[35] Seymour became commander of a squadron, with his flag in the battlecruiser HMS Inflexible, sent to attend celebrations in Boston in 1909.