Rear-Admiral John Blankett, (c. 1740 – 14 July 1801) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer of the late eighteenth century who served in three major wars, but was best known for his service in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

during the late stages

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

when he blocked French ambitions in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

Life

Blankett was born in approximately 1740 and by 1758 was a midshipman in the

, serving in HMS ''Somerset'' at the Siege of Louisbourg and the capture of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. In 1761 he wrote a report on the possibility of a

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

and was promoted to lieutenant. Shortly afterwards he was convicted of murder at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and sentenced to death, but was later reprieved. In 1763 he traveled to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

to obtain intelligence about the recent Russian exploration of the northern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast.Blankett, John
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

J. K. Laughton Sir John Knox Laughton (23 April 1830 – 14 September 1915) was a British naval historian and arguably the first to delineate the importance of the subject of Naval history as an independent field of study. Beginning his working life as a mathe ...

and

Clive Wilkinson Clive Wilkinson (born 1954, Cape Town, South Africa) is an architect and interior designer. Acknowledged as a pioneer in workplace design by thIIDA Wilkinson is perhaps best known for designing the interior of one of the buildings in the Googleple ...

, (subscription required), retrieved 9 June 2015 In the early 1770s Blankett was again in Russia in preparation for an exploration mission to the Pacific, although this was later cancelled by

Lord Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...

. The aftermath of this caused Blankett to openly associate with Sandwich's political enemies, particularly

Lord Shelburne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, (2 May 17377 May 1805; known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history), was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first ...

, whom he supplied with naval information for use against Sandwich in Parliament. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Blankett served on HMS ''Victory'' and then commanded HMS ''Nymph'' and HMS ''Rippon'' in the Caribbean, although his services were no longer required after 1780. In 1784 after the end of the war Blankett was recalled to service in command of HMS ''Thetis'' in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, receiving an honour from King Ferdinand of Sicily. In 1790 he was appointed to HMS ''Leopard'', escorting a convoy to China and the commanded HMS ''America'' on an operation to the Cape of Good Hope during the

. In 1795 he participated in the invasion and capture of the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...

. In 1798 he was given an independent command in ''Leopard'', tasked with preventing the use of the

by the French, who had invaded Egypt earlier in the year under General

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. With growing bitterness he retained this uneventful command for three years, the presence of his force dissuading the French from pursuing operations in the region. In 1801, his health broken by the heat and conditions in the Red Sea, he died on ''Leopard'' at Mocha on the Arabian Peninsula. In life, Blankett was noted for both his linguistic prowess and his bad temper.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blankett, John 1740s births 1801 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars