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| battles = *American War of Independence * *Battle of Rhode Island *French Revolutionary Wars * *Glorious First of June * *Capture of ''Résistance'' & ''Constance'' * *Capture of *Napoleonic Wars * *Battle of Trafalgar | awards = | relations = | laterwork = }} John Cooke (c.1762 – 21 October 1805) was an experienced and highly regarded officer of the Royal Navy during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the first years of the Napoleonic Wars. Cooke is best known for his death in hand-to-hand combat with French forces during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. During the action, his ship was badly damaged and boarded by sailors and marines from the French ship of the line . Cooke was killed in the ensuing melee, but his crew successfully drove off their opponents and ultimately forced the surrender of ''Aigle''. Aside from his death, remarkably little is known of Cooke's circumstances. Even his date of birth is unclear, and unlike many of his fellow officers, Cooke was never a notable society figure. He was however well respected in his profession and following his death was the subject of tributes from officers who had served alongside him. Memorials to him were placed in St Paul's Cathedral and his local church in Wiltshire. ==Early life== John Cooke was baptised on 5 March 1762 at St. Mary, Whitechapel, the second son of Francis Cooke, an Admiralty clerk, and his wife Margaret. John Cooke first went to sea at the age of eleven aboard the cutter under Lieutenant John Bazely, before going ashore to spend time at Mr Braken's naval academy at Greenwich. He was entered onto the books of one of the royal yachts by Sir Alexander Hood, who would become an enduring patron of Cooke's.〔 In 1776 he obtained a position as a midshipman on the ship of the line , aged thirteen.〔 Cooke served aboard ''Eagle'', the flagship of the North American Station, during the next three years, seeing extensive action along the eastern seaboard. Notable among these actions were the naval operations around the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778, when ''Eagle'' was closely engaged with American units ashore.〔(Cooke, John ), ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', J. K. Laughton, Retrieved 18 February 2008〕 He distinguished himself in the assault, causing Admiral Lord Howe to remark "Why, young man, you wish to become a Lieutenant before you are of sufficient age."〔 On 21 January 1779, Cooke was promoted to lieutenant and joined in the East Indies under Sir Edward Hughes, but was forced to take a leave of absence due to ill-health.〔 Cooke returned to England and then went to France to spend a year studying, before rejoining the navy in 1782 with an appointment to the 90-gun under Captain Alan Gardner.〔 Cooke saw action at the Battle of the Saintes, at which ''Duke'' was heavily engaged. He remained with Gardner following the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, bringing an end to the American War of Independence, and served as his first-lieutenant aboard his next command, the 50-gun .〔 Gardner became commodore at Jamaica, flying his broad pennant aboard ''Europa'' and retaining Cooke as his first-lieutenant until Cooke was injured in a bad fall and had to be invalided home.〔 He had recovered sufficiently by the time of the Spanish Armament in 1790 to be able to take up an appointment from his old patron, Sir Alexander Hood, to be third-lieutenant of his flagship, the 90-gun .〔〔 When the crisis passed without breaking into open war, ''London'' was paid off and Cooke went ashore.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Cooke (Royal Navy officer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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