John Cooke (17 February 176221 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 handtohand 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. Cooke, unlike many of his fellow officers, 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 born on , the second son of Francis Cooke (17281792) and his wife, Margaret (17291796), . Francis was the third son of the Reverend John Cooke and Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Dr. Thomas Sayer, Archdeacon of Surrey. Margaret was the second daughter of Moses and Mary Baker, of the Parish of St Christopher le Stocks, in the City of London. The Cooke family line had come from Devon, where they had been landowners and shipowners at Kenbury, near Exeter and Topsham. The Reverend John Cooke was a former rector of Chilbolton and Bishop's Waltham, and was appointed a Canon and 5th Prebendary of Winchester Cathedral by Bishop Trelawny. By 1750, Francis was established at Greenwich as an Admiralty ledger writer in the Cashiers' Branch of the Navy Pay Office, and as the treasurer of the Greenwich Hospital, London. Francis became a director of the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office by 1775, and on 17July 1787, The Right Honourable Henry Dundas appointed him Cashier of the Navy. Francis had married Margaret on 29May 1757 at StMary's, Chatham, Kent. John Cooke was baptised on 5March 1762, at the Cooke's home in the Tenterground at Goodman's Fields, in the parish of StMary, Whitechapel. Sir John Bentley and William Henry Ricketts, were godfathers, Mrs Pigott of Bloomsbury Square, was godmother. Early naval career John Cooke first went to sea at the age of eleven aboard the cutter under Lieutenant John Bazely, before going ashore to