Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
Description
Younger brother of Captain Robert Holmes.
Wikipedia
Admiral Sir John Holmes (1640?-28 May 1683) was an English naval leader, younger brother of the more famous Admiral Robert Holmes.
Holmes served in his brother's expedition to West Africa in 1663-1664. At the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665, and until June the following year, he commanded the Paul. He also fought in the St James's Day Battle, as captain of the 48-gun Bristol. He was then promoted to command of a second-rate, HMS Triumph, of 64 guns. In 1670-1 he was in Vice Admiral Sir Edward Spragge's expedition against the corsairs of Algiers. He commanded the Gloucester (62 guns) in the attack on the Dutch Smyrna fleet in 1672, which opened the Third Anglo-Dutch War, capturing one of the Dutch ships though it sank almost immediately because of damage inflicted in the fight. He was knighted following this action, in which he was wounded, and appointed to command the 66-gun HMS Rupert, in which he fought at the Battle of Solebay in 1672, and a number of the battles of the following year; at the First Battle of Schooneveld he was mentioned in dispatches. In 1673 he was promoted to flag rank, and in 1677-1679 was Commander-in-Chief of the fleet in the English Channel.
Sir Robert Holmes had been appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight, and was willing to use the influence this gave him on his brother's behalf. In 1675, Sir John was appointed Governor of Hurst Castle, and from 1677 to 1685 was Member of Parliament for Newtown, Isle of Wight.
[edit] References
- Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)
- Robert Latham, The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Volume X: Companion (London: HarperCollins, 1995)
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir John Barrington Sir Robert Worsley | Member of Parliament for Newtown (Isle of Wight) with Sir John Barrington 1677-1679 John Churchill 1679 Lemuel Kingdon 1679-1681 Daniel Finch 1681-1685 1677–1685 | Succeeded by Thomas Done William Blathwayt |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Holmes, John |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1683 |
| Place of death | |
Annotations
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Per L&M Companion:
kt. 1672 (?1640-83) Naval commander; younger brother of Sir Robert.
[ http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/930.php ] He served in Robert’s expedition to W. Africa in 1663-4 and in several actions of 1665-6, including his brothers raid on Terschelling, after which he was advanced to the command of a 2nd.-rate, the ‘Triumph.’ His career thereafter was steadier and more continuous than his brother’s. He obtained a peace-time commission in 1670-1 under Sprague
[ http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/5954.php ] in the expedition against Algiers and returned to take part in the attack on the Dutch Smyrna fleet and the war that followed. He achieved flag rank in 1673 and in 1677-9 was Commander-in-chief of the Channel. By his brother’s influence he was made Governor of Hurst Castle in 1675 and was four times elected M.P for Newtown (I. of W.) 1677-83.In 668 he married Peg Lowhter, sister of Peg Penn’s husband.