José de Ribas

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José Pascual Domingo de Ribas y Boyons (June 6, 1749 in Naples – December 14 [O.S. December 2] 1800 in Saint Petersburg) known in Russia as Osip (Iosif) Mikhailovich Deribas (Осип (Иосиф) Михайлович Дерибас) was a Russian admiral of Spanish-Irish origin. Son of the Spanish consul in Naples, he had been born in that city -then under Spanish rule- but he joined Russian Army as "member of the Spanish nobility" in 1772. He took part in Russo-Turkish Wars of 1768-1774 and 1787-1792. His greatest deed was the storming of Izmail in 1790 under the supreme command of Alexander Suvorov. De Ribas proposed a plan of the storm, which was approved by Suvorov, and led both Russian navy and land forces to capture the mighty fortress. The defeat was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire, while in Russia it was glorified in the country's first national anthem, "Let the thunder of victory sound!". In 1791 de Ribas was promoted to Rear Admiral and commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. He was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1795 and to full Admiral in 1796.

As a son-in-law of Ivan Betskoy and a secretary to Prince Potemkin, he became one of the earliest administrators of the New Russia. He was actively involved in the conspiracy to overthrow Emperor Paul but died several months before the coup took place. Many sources suggest that he was poisoned by one of the conspirators, Piotr Alexeyevich Von Palen, to keep him from revealing the plot under the effects of the fever. The main, and the most famous, street in Odessa, the city he founded, Deribasovskaya is named after him.