Captain William Death was an 18th-century privateer from Middlesex, England who died in battle December 1756, in the first year of the Seven Years War. Captain Death was in command of the Terrible, a ship equipped with twenty-six carriage guns, and manned with 200 sailors. On 23 December 1756, the Terrible engaged the Alexandre le Grande, a large French ship sailing from Saint-Domingue. The Alexandre le Grande was captured, but 4th Lieutenant John Death, Captain Death's brother, died in battle, and 16 other men were lost. Captain Death assigned 40 men to secure the French ship, and they made for Plymouth, England.