| | | | |
| Francis William Sullivan R.N. | Explanation |
| |
| Date (from) | (Date to) | Personal |
| 31 May 1834 | | Born |
| 13 January 1877 | | Naval aide de camp to Queen Victoria |
| 25 May 1878 | | C.M.G. (Companion of St Michael and St George) |
| 27 November 1879 | | K.C.B. (Knight Commander of the Bath) |
| |
| Date | Rank |
| 22 February 1856 | Lieutenant |
| 28 June 1859 | Commander |
| 9 November 1863 | Captain |
| 30 December 1878 | Rear-Admiral |
| 31 March 1885 | Vice-Admiral |
| 5 August 1890 | Admiral |
| 25 February 1892 | Retired Admiral |
| |
| Date from | Date to | Service |
| 22 February 1855 | | Lieutenant in Sphinx, commanded by Arthur Parry Eardley Wilmot, Mediterranean |
| 14 December 1859 | 30 October 1861 | Commander in Greyhound (from commissioning at Plymouth until paying off at Plymouth), Mediterranean |
| 24 June 1862 | 9 November 1863 | Commander in Harrier, Australia (during the New Zealand War) |
| 4 July 1866 | | Captain in Tamar |
| 15 March 1870 | 1 December 1870 | Captain in Volage, Channel squadron |
| 1 December 1870 | 30 October 1871 | Captain in Immortalité (from commissioning at Portsmouth), 1871 detached squadron |
| 1 March 1875 | 1876 | Captain in Duke of Wellington, flagship of the port admiral, Portsmouth... |
| 1876 | | Commander-in-chief, Cape of Good Hope and West coast of Africa |
| 6 December 1881 | 17 October 1882 | Commander-in-chief, Detached Squadron |