John Leake

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Leake
Sir John Leake by Godfrey Kneller
Born	(1656-07-04)4 July 1656 Rotherhithe, London
Died	21 August 1720(1720-08-21) (aged 64) Greenwich, London
Buried	St Dunstan's, Stepney, London
Allegiance	England (to 1707)  Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy (1664–1707)  Royal Navy (1707–1714)
Years of service	1673–1714
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Firedrake HMS Dartmouth HMS Oxford HMS Eagle HMS Plymouth HMS Ossory HMS Kent HMS Berwick HMS Britannia HMS Association Mediterranean Fleet
Battles/wars	Third Anglo-Dutch War Nine Years' War War of the Spanish Succession
Other work	MP for Rochester

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Leake (4 July 1656 – 21 August 1720)^[1] was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. He then distinguished himself when he led the convoy that broke the barricading boom at Culmore Fort thereby lifting the siege of Derry during the Williamite War in Ireland. As a captain he saw action in some of the heaviest fighting (70 of his men were killed) at the Battle of Barfleur and was also involved in a successful attack on the French ships at the Battle of La Hogue during the Nine Years' War.

Leake went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland and then, as a flag officer, served as Second-in-Command to Admiral George Rooke at the Capture of Gibraltar and he commanded the vanguard in the Battle of Málaga during the War of the Spanish Succession. He later returned to Gibraltar with a combined English, Dutch and Portuguese force of 35 ships and defeated Baron de Pointis at the Battle of Cabrita Point.

Leake also served under Sir Cloudesley Shovell and the Earl of Peterborough at the siege of Barcelona and was present at the capitulation of the city by French and Spanish forces. A further siege took place between when a Franco-Spanish army led by Philip V of Spain laid siege to Barcelona in an attempt to recapture it. The Franco-Spanish army abandoned the siege when Leake arrived. Leake later captured Sardinia and landed the Earl of Stanhope with forces that took the well-fortified harbour of Port Mahon on Minorca.

Leake served as Member of Parliament for Rochester from 1708 to 1715 and as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1710 to 1712.