Blake, Robert (1598-1657), was an English soldier who became a great naval leader. He fought in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War (1642-1646 and 1648). In 1649, Oliver Cromwell made him a commander of the Navy. Blake destroyed the remnants of the Royalist fleet led by Prince Rupert. In 1653, in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654), Blake defeated the Dutch admiral Martin Tromp. Blake was born in August 1598 at Bridgwater, in Somerset, England. He died at sea near Plymouth, England, on Aug. 7, 1657.
