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Who is John Paul Jones?
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States’ first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites (including John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin) as well as enemies (who accused him of piracy), and his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day. As such, he is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the American Navy” (a sobriquet he shares with John Barry and John Adams).
Jones was born and raised in Scotland, became a sailor, and served as commander of several merchantmen. After having killed one of his mutinous crew members with a sword, he fled to the Colony of Virginia and around 1775 joined the newly founded Continental Navy in their fight against the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. He commanded U.S. Navy ships stationed in France, led one failed assault on Britain, and several attacks on British merchant ships. Left without a command in 1787, he joined the Imperial Russian Navy and obtained the rank of rear admiral.
Born a Scot, famous in the U.S. for his role in establishing our Navy, ending his life as a rear admiral in the Russian Navy… interesting man.
This John Paul Jones should of course not be confused with the musician of the same name, who played bass and keyboard for the English rock band, Led Zeppelin.
i always feel a little sorry for mr jones of led zep because he is the one people forget – like they will waffle on about robert singing, they will wax lyrical about jimmy and his violin guitar thing, some may even mention they remember the drummer who drank himself to death at such a young age but if you asked who played the bass they will be saying things like; it’s on the tip of my tongue … i love led zep but would never be able to name the other guy, i, like many others, would probably google who was that other guy in led zep? great post thank you for sharing, respect
Thanks. This is a great reply. I probably only remember the musician, John Paul Jones, because he shares a name with the “I have not yet begun to fight” naval captain.