John Kempthorne (Royal Navy officer)

Sir John Kempthorne
Born	c. 1620
Died	19 October 1679 Portsmouth
Allegiance	Kingdom of England
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1664 – 1679
Rank	Vice-Admiral
Commands held	Kent Dunkirk Royal James Old James Royal Charles Defiance Warspite Mary Rose
Battles/wars	Battle of Lowestoft Four Days Battle Battle of Cádiz (1669) Battle of Solebay Battle of Schooneveld Battle of Texel
Awards	Knighthood

Sir John Kempthorne (c. 1620 – 19 October 1679) was an officer in the English Royal Navy during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars, who eventually rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral.

Kempthorne was born the second son of John Kempthorne, an attorney of Ugborough, Devon, and his wife Agnes Simon. Little is known about the younger Kempthorne's early life, but his father was a Royalist supporter and had served as a cavalry officer in the English Civil War. While his father was in the military, the younger John Kempthorne embarked on a life at sea. He began his career as an apprentice to the master of a vessel sailing out of Topsham. He soon moved up the ranks and took command of a number of ships of the Levant Company, trading in the Mediterranean. Privateering was common in the Mediterranean, and in 1657 Kempthorne's ship – probably the Eastland Merchant – was captured after a hard fought battle by the Spanish privateer Papachino. Kempthorne was treated well by Papachino, and after the Spaniard was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1658 Kempthorne repaid the kindness and eventually procured Papachino's release. Kempthorne was elected a brother of Trinity House on 17 November 1660, and continued to command ships in the Mediterranean. He was captain of the Maidenhead between 1662 and 1663, when she was requisitioned by the Turks to carry troops to Crete. The ambassador at Constantinople, Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea, remarked that ‘the captain has always been a man of loyal principles’.

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