Robert Fairfax (rear-admiral)
| Robert Fairfax | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Fairfax c.1695
|
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| Born | February 1666 Newton Kyme, Yorkshire |
| Died | 17 October 1725 (aged 59) |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of England Kingdom of Great Britain
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| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy (1687–1707) Royal Navy (1707–1708) |
| Years of service | 1687–1708 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held |
Conception Prize Pembroke Ruby Newark Cornwall Severn Cambridge Restoration Somerset Kent Berwick Torbay Barfleur Albemarle |
| Battles/wars | |
Robert Fairfax (February 1666 – 17 October 1725) was a rear admiral and politician.
Robert Fairfax was born in Newton Kyme, and baptised in the chapel in Steeton, North Yorkshire on 23 February 1666. He was the second son of William Fairfax (1630–1673) and Catherine Stapleton (d. 1695), and grandson of Sir William Fairfax.
He first went to sea in 1681, in a merchant ship, the Mary, commanded by Captain Bushell, the son of an old parliamentary officer. With Bushell he made two voyages to the Mediterranean. On his return in December 1685 his friends were desirous that he should enter the Royal Navy, but it was not till January 1687–8 that he was received as a volunteer on board the Mary, the flagship of Sir Roger Strickland.
Within a few weeks after the accession of William III and Mary II, Fairfax was promoted to be lieutenant of the Bonaventure, commanded by Captain (afterwards Sir) Thomas Hopsonn. In her he was present at the Battle of Bantry Bay, 1 May 1689, and afterwards at the relief of Derry, 28 July.
In June 1690 Hopsonn was relieved in the command of the Bonaventure by Captain Hubbard, but Fairfax, remaining in her, was present at the Battle of Beachy Head on 30 June 1690. On 15 November he was promoted to the command of the Conception Prize, and for the next two years was stationed at Boston in New England, cruising against the French privateers.
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