Which naval battle in 1805 saw the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson?

The Battle of Trafalgar was the 1805 naval battle in which Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed. Fought on 21 October 1805 off Spain’s Cape Trafalgar, it pitted the British Royal Navy against a combined French and Spanish fleet during the War of the Third Coalition.

Nelson commanded the British fleet and used an unconventional attack: two columns of British ships broke through the allied line instead of approaching in a parallel formation. The maneuver divided the French and Spanish fleet and produced a decisive British victory. Eighteen allied ships were captured or destroyed, while Britain lost none.

Nelson was shot by a French musketeer during the fighting and died before the battle ended. Trafalgar made him a national hero and confirmed British naval supremacy for decades. It also ended Napoleon’s practical hopes of invading Britain, although the wider Napoleonic Wars continued for another ten years.