James Bisset (Royal Navy officer)

Rear-Admiral James Bisset (1760–1824) was a Scottish commander in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

James joined the Royal Navy in 1771 as a captain's servant to Cpt John Bentinck on HMS Centaur a guardship at Portsmouth.

In October 1773 he was present when Bentinck entertained Benjamin Franklin on board and he famously demonstrated the calming of the water by pouring oil on it.

In 1811 his wife lived at Carnegie Street[6] in south Edinburgh and in 1813 moved nearby to 174 Pleasance.

His ultimate command was the highly prestigious 100-gun HMS Sovereign, which had famously seen action at the Battle of Trafalgar.