Sir John Narborough
| Sir John Narborough | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1640 |
| Died | 1688 (aged ~48) |
| Buried | Knowlton, Kent (51°14′1″N 1°16′1″E / 51.23361°N 1.26694°ECoordinates: 51°14′1″N 1°16′1″E / 51.23361°N 1.26694°E) |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Sole Bay Actions against the Barbary pirates |
| Other work | Commissioner of the Navy |
Rear-Admiral Sir John Narborough (c. 1640–1688) or Narbrough was an English naval commander of the 17th century. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the Barbary Coast pirates.
He was descended from an old Norfolk family and married Elizabeth Hill, with whom he had two surviving sons. Her father was John Hill, a Commissioner of the Navy. After her husband's death, Lady Narborough married Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell.
He received his commission in 1664, and in 1666 was promoted lieutenant for gallantry in the action with the Dutch fleet off the Downs in June of that year. After the peace he was chosen to conduct a voyage of exploration in the South Seas. He set sail from Deptford on 26 September 1669, and entered the Straits of Magellan in October of the following year. In 1670 he visited Port Desire in Argentina and claimed the territory for the Kingdom of Great Britain, but returned home in June 1671 without accomplishing his original purpose. A narrative of the expedition was published at London in 1694 under the title An Account of several late Voyages and Discoveries to the South and North.
During the Third Anglo-Dutch War Narborough was second captain of the Lord High Admiral's ship the HMS Prince. He conducted himself with such conspicuous valour at the Battle of Sole Bay in May 1672, following the death in action of his superior Sir John Cox, that he won special approbation, and shortly afterwards was made rear-admiral and knighted. In 1675 he was sent to suppress the Barbary piracies, and by the bold expedient of despatching gun-boats into the harbour of Tripoli at midnight and burning the ships, he induced the Dey to agree to a treaty. There is an account of the raid in the diary of the naval chaplain Henry Teonge. The Lieutenant who planned and executed the burning of the ships in the harbour was Cloudesley Shovell, who later married Narborough's widow.
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