Question: Facts:   - honorific prefix: admiral sir    - honorific suffix: gbr kt kch    - death date: 9 september 1857    - allegiance: kingdom of great britain      - birth date: 8 august 1779    - serviceyears: 1790 & ndash ; 1857    - name: william h. dillon    - branch: united kingdom    - birth place: birmingham , england    - rank: vice-admiral   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of william henry dillon .
Answer:
admiral sir william henry dillon -lrb- 8 august 1779 - 9 september 1857 -rrb- was a british naval officer .he was born in birmingham in 1779 , illegitimate son of sir john talbot dillon , and elizabeth collins .he entered the navy in may 1790 and served as a midshipman under captain gambier in , and was stunned by a splinter in the action of 1 june 1794 .he was present in lord bridport 's action off ile de groix on 23 june 1795 , and at the reduction of st. lucie in may 1796 , when he carried a flag of truce to take possession of pigeon island .having become an acting-lieutenant in `` glenmore '' in 1798 , he co-operated with the army at wexford during the rebellion , where he succeeded in arresting the irish chief skallian .as a lieutenant on board on the jamaica station , he participated in the capture of the spanish corvette in the mona passage , and sailed her back to jamaica .as senior-lieutenant of the `` africaine '' , he was sent with a flag of truce from lord keith to the dutch commodore , valterbach , at helvoetsluys on 20 july 1803 .against the rules of war he was made a prisoner , handed over to the french , and detained in captivity until september 1807 .on 8 april 1805 , during his captivity , he had been promoted to commander , and on obtaining his release he took the command of the sloop , carrying only fourteen 12-pound carronades and sixty-five men .in her , on 14 march 1808 , on the coast of norway , after a long action , drove off the danish twenty-gun brig `` lougen '' .in this service he was severely wounded , and his gallant conduct was acknowledged by the lloyd 's patriotic fund , which presented him a sword valued at one hundred guineas .after promotion to post-captain he served at the walcheren expedition , on the coasts of portugal and spain , at newfoundland , in china , india , and finally in the mediterranean , in command of the 74-gun third rate , when he rendered much service to the spanish cause .he was promoted to flag rank on 9 november 1846 .he was nominated as...