Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, KCB, GCTE, KmstkSO, FRS (21 June 1764 – 26 May 1840) was a British naval officer. Serving in the American and French revolutionary wars, he later rose to the rank of admiral. Napoleon Bonaparte, reminiscing later in his life, said of him: "That man made me miss my destiny".
Sidney Smith, as he always called himself, was born into a military and naval family with connections to the Pitt family. He was the second son of Captain John Smith of the Guards, and was born at Westminster. Sidney Smith attended Tonbridge School until 1772. He joined the Royal Navy in 1777 and fought in the American Revolutionary War, where he saw action in 1778 against the American frigate Raleigh.
For his bravery under Rodney in the action near Cape St Vincent in January 1780, Sidney Smith was, on 25 September, appointed lieutenant of the 74-gun third-rate Alcide, despite being under the required age of nineteen.
He distinguished himself under Admiral Thomas Graves at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 and under Admiral George Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes and in consequence was given his first command, the sloop Fury. He was soon promoted to captain a larger frigate, but following the peace of Versailles in 1783, he was put ashore on half pay.
Sidney Smith may refer to:
Sydney Howard Smith (3 February 1872 – 27 March 1947) was a British tennis and badminton player.
Sydney Smith was the first All England Badminton Men's Singles champion in 1900 (the same year he competed in the Gentlemen's Singles final at Wimbledon, losing to Reginald Doherty). Smith and partner Frank Riseley won the Gentlemen's Doubles title at Wimbledon in 1902 and 1906. He was a member of the British Davis Cup team in 1905 and 1906. Tennis analyst Karoly Mazak ranked Smith as the World No. 2 player in 1899.
Sidney Smith (14 January 1929 – 25 April 1985) was an English cricketer active from 1949 to 1956 who played for Lancashire. He was born in Heywood, Lancashire and died in Middleton, Lancashire. He appeared in 44 first-class matches as a righthanded batsman, scoring 1,117 runs with a highest score of 101*, his only first-class century, and held ten catches.