Horatio Hornblower was the fictional title character of a series of novels written by C.S. Forester in the mid-20th Century. An officer of the British Royal Navy in the early 19th Century Napoleonic Wars, Hornblower often found himself far from contact with his Navy's Admiralty, relying on his own wits and loyal crews to resolve military and diplomatic crises dangerous to his country's interest.
- Gene Roddenberry's original pitch for Star Trek described the ship's Captain as a "space-age Horatio Hornblower". The Star Trek Captain most resembling the literary hero's introverted character was, ironically, the frenchman Jean-Luc Picard. Another character from the Hornblower novels, First Lieutenant Bush, somewhat resembled Spock and William Riker, men initially more comfortable at their Captain's right hand than as commanders in their own right. Hornblower's innovative exploitation of his vessel's capabilities (the cream of early 18th century human technology), while grounded in reality, could be considered an ancestor of Star Trek's notorious technobabble.
Hornblower's character was inspired by the real British national hero Admiral Horatio Nelson.