John Paul Jones

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, and sometimes Joshua Humphreys, Jones is highly regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in the history of the United States.

Jones was a Freemason and made many friends among U.S. political elites, including John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, 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.