John Campbell (Royal Navy officer)
| John Campbell | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1720 parish of Kirkbean, near Dumfries, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland |
| Died | 1790-12-16 his house at Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, England |
| Allegiance | Great Britain |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | Before 1740 – 1782 |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral of the White |
| Battles/wars | Quiberon Bay, Ushant |
| Other work | Governor of Newfoundland, astronomer |
John Campbell (1720–1790) was born in the parish of Kirkbean, near Dumfries, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Campbell was a British naval officer, navigational expert and colonial governor.
Campbell joined the Royal Navy at an early age and sailed around the world in 1740 on the Centurion. He later became known as a navigational expert, and was from 1782 to his death Governor and Commander-in-Chief in Newfoundland.
John Campbell was born in the parish of kirk been Scotland
His father, John Campbell (d. 1733), was minister of Kirkbean and John was at an early age apprenticed to the master of a coasting vessel. That vessel's mate was pressed into the navy, and John is said to have entered the navy by offering himself in exchange for him. He served for three years in the Blenheim, Torbay, and Russell before being appointed in 1740 as a midshipman to the Centurion. On the Centurion's ensuing circumnavigation of the world as the flagship of Commodore George Anson, he was promoted master's mate when a vacancy came up soon after sailing, and was promoted to master after the 1743 engagement against the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga. One of his fellow midshipmen was Augustus Keppel, who from then on became a lifelong friend.
Returning home in early January 1745, Campbell passed the examination for lieutenant on 16 January 1745 and, with Anson's influence behind him, he was promoted to commander on 27 May 1747 and given command of a sloop. Promoted to post captain on 23 November 1747, he was given command of the new frigate Bellona, a command he held until the peace in 1748. Praised for his successes on the Bellona, in 1749 he was given command of the expedition to the Pacific by the sloop Porcupine and the Raven, then of one to the north-west and north-east passages in the Atlantic, both of which were proposed but then called off for political reasons.
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