John Munden (died 1719)

Sir John Munden
Portrait of Sir John Munden, painted by Michael Dahl in 1705
Born	c. 1645
Died	13 March 1719 Chelsea, London
Allegiance	Kingdom of England
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	Edgar Coronation Lenox St Michael Monmouth Albemarle London Ranelagh Winchester
Battles/wars	Battle of Beachy Head Battle of Barfleur
Relations	Sir Richard Munden (brother)

Sir John Munden (c. 1645 – 13 March 1719) was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy who was dismissed from the service for having failed to engage a French fleet, despite having been acquitted by a court-martial of any misconduct in the matter.

He was born around 1645, the younger son of Richard Munden (1602–1672), a ferryman of Chelsea, and his wife Elizabeth (1608–1694). He was appointed second lieutenant aboard the St David on 30 November 1677, and served aboard her in the Mediterranean until 1680, under the command of his older brother Sir Richard Munden. Afterwards, he transferred on the Constant Warwick on 16 July 1681, the Mary Rose on 17 June 1685, and the Charles Galley on 31 July 1686. On 23 July 1688 he was made commander of the Half Moon fire ship.

He achieved post rank on 14 December 1688, when Lord Dartmouth gave him command of the Edgar. At the battle of Beachy Head he commanded the Coronation. He fought at the battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692, commanding the Lenox in the van of the red squadron, under the immediate orders of Sir Ralph Delaval. He was appointed to command the St Michael in 1693, the Monmouth in 1695, the Albemarle in 1696, and the London in 1697. In May 1699 he was given command of the Ranelagh, only to be moved to the Winchester two months later and sent to the Mediterranean in command of a small squadron. Here, he negotiated a treaty with the dey of Algiers for the regulation of ships' passes, and obtained the release of English slaves. He returned to England in November 1700.