- published: 13 Apr 2014
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Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher "Kit" George Francis Maurice Cradock KCVO CB SGM (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was a British officer of the Royal Navy.
Cradock was born at Hartforth, Richmond, North Yorkshire. He earned a reputation for great gallantry.
He entered the Royal Navy in 1875, and saw action in the Mediterranean, serving with distinction.
In 1900 in China during the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded a mixture of British, German and Japanese sailors during the capture of the Taku forts and received the Prussian Order of the Crown with swords as a result.
Cradock was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1910. He was involved in the sea rescue of the passengers and crew of the SS Delhi in December 1911. He was awarded the KCVO in 1912. In 1913, he was given command of the North America and West Indies Station.
He was the author of three books, 'Sporting Notes in the Far East' (1889), 'Wrinkles in Seamanship' (1894), and 'Whispers From the Fleet' (1907) which contained advice for naval officers.
He was not married, but kept a dog which accompanied him at sea. He commented that he would choose to die either during an accident while hunting (this was his favourite pastime), or during action at sea.
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist. He achieved stardom for his acting achievements, including his notable motion picture portrayal of the fictional superhero Superman.
On May 27, 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse in an equestrian competition in Virginia. He required a wheelchair and breathing apparatus for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries, and for human embryonic stem cell research afterward. He founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.
Reeve married Dana Morosini in April 1992. Christopher and Dana's son, William Elliot Reeve, was born on June 7, 1992. Reeve also had two children, Matthew Exton Reeve (born 1979) and Alexandra Exton Reeve (born 1983), from his previous relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Gae Exton.
Christopher Reeve was born in New York City on September 25, 1952, the son of Barbara Pitney (née Lamb), a journalist, and Franklin D'Olier Reeve, who was a teacher, novelist, poet and scholar. His paternal grandfather, Colonel Richard Henry Reeve, had been the CEO of Prudential Financial for over twenty-five years, and his great-grandfather, Franklin D'Olier, was a prominent businessman, veteran of World War I, and the first national commander of the American Legion. Reeve's father was also descended from a sister of statesman Elias Boudinot, as well as from Massachusetts governors Thomas Dudley and John Winthrop, Pennsylvania deputy governor Thomas Lloyd, and Henry Baldwin, a US Supreme Court Justice. Reeve's mother was the granddaughter of Mahlon Pitney, another U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and was also a descendant of William Bradford, a Mayflower passenger.