John Paul Jones (Father of the US Navy)

John Paul Jones (1747–1792), born John Paul in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, was the first great naval hero of the United States. Going to sea at age thirteen, he captained merchant vessels before adding 'Jones' to his name and volunteering for the newly formed Continental Navy in 1775 upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.

Commanding USS Ranger, Jones brought the war directly to British shores, raiding Whitehaven and capturing HMS Drake in British home waters. His immortal moment arrived on September 23, 1779, at the Battle of Flamborough Head. Commanding the rotting French frigate Bonhomme Richard, Jones engaged the superior British 44-gun warship HMS Serapis. When British Captain Richard Pearson called on him to strike his colors, Jones famously bellowed: 'I have not yet begun to fight!' Lashing his ship to Serapis, his crew boarded and captured the British warship as Bonhomme Richard sank beneath them.