Kearny, Lawrence

Kearny, Lawrence kär´nē [key], 1789–1868, American naval officer, b. Perth Amboy, N.J.; cousin of Stephen WattsKearny. He became a midshipman in 1807, served in the War of 1812, and later saw action in the Caribbean and Mediterranean against pirates. As commander (1840–43) of the East India squadron, he opened negotiations that resulted in the signing of a commercial treaty between China and the United States in 1844. On his way home he stopped at the Hawaiian Islands and protested the proposed cession of the islands to Great Britain.

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