Jan van Brakel

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Jan van Brakel (1638—July 10, 1690) was a Dutch rear admiral who distinguished himself on many occasions during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars and the Nine Years War. Most likely he was the son of Commodore Pieter van Brakel, who was killed in the Second Anglo-Dutch War while defending a convoy of merchant ships. In 1666 he was promoted to captain and commanded a fire ship at the Four Days Battle and at the St. James's Day Battle. Months later, while in command of the frigate Vrede, he became one of the heroes of the Raid on the Medway and was given the honourable task of triumphantly towing the captured English flagship Royal Charles out of the Medway River.

In 1672 at the Battle of Solebay (the first battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War), van Brakel served as captain of the Groot Hollandia, and played a major part in the burning of the HMS Royal James.

In 1673 he continued to fight with distinction at the battles of the Schooneveld and Texel. In 1684 he was promoted to Rear Admiral for the Admiralty of the Maas (Rotterdam); four years later he was part of the fleet that brought William III to England in the invasion that led to the Glorious Revolution. From 1688 forward he served on the amalgamated Anglo-Dutch fleet until he was killed in the Battle of Beachy Head. His grave memorial is in the St. Laurens Church in Rotterdam.

The Hr.Ms. Jan van Brakel was a Dutch naval vessel (frigate) named after him.