Jean Bart

From Free net encyclopedia

Jean Bart is also a pseudonym of the Romanian writer Eugeniu Botez.

Jean Bart (October 21 1651 - April 27, 1702) was a French naval commander of the 17th century. Image:StatuejeanbartWIKI.jpg

Born in Dunkirk as the son of a fisherman, Bart served when young in the Dutch navy, but when war broke out between Louis XIV and the United Provinces in 1672 he entered the French service. He gained great distinction in the Mediterranean, where he held an irregular sort of commission, unable due to his low birth to receive a command in the navy.

He had such success, however, that he became a lieutenant in 1679. He rose rapidly to the rank of captain and then to that of admiral. The Peace of Ryswick (1697) put a close to his active service. Many anecdotes tell of the courage and bluntness of the uncultivated sailor, who became the popular hero of the French naval service. The town of Dunkirk has honoured his memory by erecting a statue and by naming a public square after him.

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Ships bearing the name Jean Bart

More than 27 ships of the French Navy, over a period of 200 years, have borne the name Jean Bart. These include:

Jean Bart (1788), a 74 gun ship of the line.
Jean Bart (1811), a 74 gun ship of the line.
Jean Bart (1886), a first class cruiser of 4800 tonnes.
Jean Bart (1910), a 23,600 tonne battleship, the first French dreadnought.
Jean Bart (1940), a 50,000 tonne battleship armed with 380mm guns. Although launched in 1940, the ship did not get fitted out and completed until 1955, having spent much of the Second World War in dock at Casablanca.
Jean Bart (1988), an anti-aircraft frigate, still in service with the French Navy.