Stafford Fairborne

Sir Stafford Fairborne
Admiral Sir Stafford Fairborne by Godfrey Kneller
Born	1666
Died	11 November 1742
Buried at	Westminster Abbey
Allegiance	England  Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy (1681–1707)  Royal Navy (1707–1715)
Years of service	1681–1715
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Bonadventure HMS Half Moon HMS Richmond HMS Phoenix HMS Warspite HMS Elizabeth HMS Monck HMS Victory HMS Defiance HMS London HMS Albemarle HMS Torbay HMS Suffolk HMS Tilbury
Battles/wars	Nine Years' War War of the Spanish Succession
Other work	MP for Rochester

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Stafford Fairborne (1666 – 11 November 1742) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a captain he saw action in command of various ships at the Battle of Beachy Head, at the Battle of Barfleur and at the Battle of Lagos during the Nine Years' War.

As a flag officer Fairborne was given command of the inshore squadron in a fleet sent to the Mediterranean during the War of the Spanish Succession. The fleet was defeated at the Battle of Cádiz but later achieved a victory at the Battle of Vigo Bay. He later became Second-in-Command, under Sir Cloudesley Shovell, of the Mediterranean Fleet and was present at the siege and capture of Barcelona. After that he was given command of a squadron sent to La Rochelle and took part in the capture of Ostend.

Fairborne represented Rochester as a Member of Parliament from 1705 to 1710 and also served as a member of the council of the Lord High Admiral (an office vested at that time in Prince George of Denmark).

Born the eldest son of Sir Palmes Fairborne, Governor of Tangiers and Margery Fairborne (née Devereux), Fairborne became a King's letter boy in 1681. Promoted to lieutenant, he commanded the fourth-rate HMS Bonadventure during the captain's illness in a successful encounter with some Salé vessels off Mamora in June 1685 and, after being promoted to commander on 12 July 1686, he was given command of the Salé prize HMS Half Moon later that month. Fairborne's patron from this time was Admiral Arthur Herbert.