Robert Falcon Scott Markham's first choice as leader but, having decided on him, the older man's support remained constant. There were committee battles over the scope of Scott's responsibilities, with the Royal Society pressing to put a scientist in charge of the expedition's programme while Scott merely commanded the ship. Eventually, however, Markham's view prevailed; Scott was given overall command, and was promoted to the rank of commander before "Discovery" sailed for the Antarctic on 6 August 1901. King Edward VII, who showed a keen interest in the expedition, visited the Discovery the day before the ship left British shores in August 1901,
Ship-of-the-line captain also important to distinguish between the rank of captain (N) and the appointment of captain, meaning the commanding officer of a ship, regardless of his or her rank. A captain (N) is addressed initially as "Captain Bloggins", thereafter by superiors and peers as "Captain" and by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". The "(N)" is not part of the spoken address. Note: Before Unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern. "Capitaine de vaisseau" is a rank in the French Navy, corresponding to that of colonel in the French Army. They usually command the