July 18th, 1792
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 06, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States’ first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War.
He made many friends among U.S political elites (including John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin) as well as enemies (who accused him of piracy), and his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day.
Father of the American Navy
As such, he is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the American Navy” (a sobriquet he shares with John Barry and John Adams).
Born in Scotland
Jones was born and raised in Scotland, became a sailor, and served as commander of several merchantmen.
After having killed one of his mutinous crew members with a sword, he fled to the Colony of Virginia and around 1775 joined the newly founded Continental Navy in their fight against the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.
He commanded U.S. Navy ships stationed in France, led one failed assault on Britain, and several attacks on British merchant ships.
Left without a command in 1787, he joined the Imperial Russian Navy and obtained the rank of rear admiral.
Death
In June 1792, Jones was appointed U.S. Consul to treat with the Dey of Algiers for the release of American captives. Before Jones was able to fulfill his appointment, he was found dead lying face-down on his bed in his third-floor Paris apartment, No. 19 Rue de Tournon, on July 18, 1792.
He was 45 years old. The cause of death was interstitial nephritis. A small procession of servants, friends and loyal family walked his body four miles (6.4 km) for burial.
He was buried in Paris at the Saint Louis Cemetery, which belonged to the French royal family. Four years later, France’s revolutionary government sold the property, and the cemetery was forgotten.
