Voting Station

Robert Blake (Admiral)

Please vote to return to collections.

Military Personnel

The Resume

    (September 27, 1598-August 7, 1657)
    Born in Bridgewater, England, United Kingdom
    Served in the Parliamentary army and navy during the English Civil War
    Appointed ‘general at sea’ (1649)
    Commanded the English Navy during the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-54) and Anglo-Spanish War (1656-57)
    Died at sea shortly before the fleet was to return to Plymouth, England
    Called ‘father of the Royal Navy’

Why he might be annoying:

    He was described as having ‘the jowls and general demeanor of an angry bulldog.’
    He was denied a fellowship to Oxford’s Merton College because the warden, Sir Henry Savile, had ‘an eccentric distaste for men of short stature,’ and the 5’6 Blake apparently did not measure up.
    After the Restoration of the monarchy, his remains were removed from Westminster Abbey and dumped in a common grave.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He expanded the English fleet from a couple dozen ships to over a hundred, the largest it had yet been.
    He wrote the English navy’s first set of rules and regulations, The Laws of War and Ordinances of the Sea.
    He wrote ‘Sailing Instructions’ and ‘Fighting Instructions,’ which served as the basis for English naval tactics throughout the Age of Sail.
    In his last and greatest victory, he attacked Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands – a harbor so heavily fortified it was widely considered impregnable – and knocked out the main forts, sank a Spanish treasure fleet, and escaped with the loss of only one ship (April 20, 1657)
    He is usually ranked with Sir Francis Drake and Lord Horatio Nelson as one of Britain’s greatest admirals.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying