Simone Antonio Saint-Bon

Simone Antonio Pacoret de Saint-Bon (March 20, 1828 – November 26, 1892) was an admiral of the Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy").

Saint-Bon was born at Chambéry, now in France, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

At the Battle of Lissa in 1866, his vessel, the ironclad Formidabile, forced the entrance of the port of San Giorgio di Lissa and silenced the Austrian artillery batteries, for which exploit he received the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Insisting upon the need for large battleships with high powers of attack and defense, and capable of fighting as single units, he introduced the colossal types of which the ironclad battleships Duilio and Enrico Dandolo were the earliest examples.

Falling from power with the Right in 1876, he resumed active naval service, but in 1891 was again appointed Minister of the Navy.