John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones
	John Paul Jones depicted in a 1906 portrait by Cecilia Beaux
Birth name	John Paul
Nickname(s)	Father of the American Navy
Born	July 6, 1747; Arbigland, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, Kingdom of Great Britain
Died	July 18, 1792 (aged 45); Paris, Kingdom of France
Buried	Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain (1760–1776); United States of America (1776–1787); Russian Empire (1787–1788)
Service/branch	Merchant Navy; Continental Navy; Imperial Russian Navy
Years of service	1760–1788
Rank	Captain (Merchant Navy); Captain (Continental Navy); Chevalier; Rear Admiral (Imperial Russian Navy)
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Raid on Canso (1776); Battle of Nassau; Battle of Block Island; USS Providence vs HMS Mellish; Irish/North Sea Campaign; Action of 24 April 1778; Battle of Flamborough Head; ; Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) Naval actions at the Siege of Ochakov (1788); ;
Awards	Institution du Mérite Militaire; Congressional Gold Medal; Order of Saint Anna
Signature

John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish American naval captain who was a naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. Often called the "Father of the American Navy", a title sometimes also credited to John Barry, John Adams,^[1] and sometimes Joshua Humphreys,^[2]^[3] Jones is highly regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in the history of the United States.

Jones was a Freemason^[4] and made many friends among U.S. political elites, including John Hancock,^[5] Benjamin Franklin,^[6] and even his enemies, who accused him of piracy. His actions in British waters during the American Revolutionary War earned him an international reputation that endures to this day.

Jones was born and raised in Scotland, became a sailor at the age of thirteen, 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.

^ "John Adams I (Frigate) 1799–1867". USA.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
^ Delaware County Historical Society (1902). Proceedings of the Delaware County Historical Society.
^ "Joshua Humphreys". www.navalengineers.org. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
^ United States. Congress. Congressional Record. Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. A4791. Quote: "Tom Paine, Patrick Henry, James Otis, and John Paul Jones were all Masons."
^ Morison, 1959p. 2232
^ Morison, 1959pp. 120–121

[1] "John Adams I (Frigate) 1799–1867". USA.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2015.

[2] Delaware County Historical Society (1902). Proceedings of the Delaware County Historical Society.

[3] "Joshua Humphreys". www.navalengineers.org. Retrieved January 24, 2023.

[4] United States. Congress. Congressional Record. Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. A4791. Quote: "Tom Paine, Patrick Henry, James Otis, and John Paul Jones were all Masons."

[5] Morison, 1959p. 2232

[6] Morison, 1959pp. 120–121

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