Robert Blake

Robert Blake (1598–1657) was an English naval commander born in Somerset. He fought for Parliament in the Civil War, holding Lyme Regis in 1644 and Taunton in 1645. Made a general at sea in 1649, he pursued Prince Rupert's fleet from Ireland to the Mediterranean, and fought the Dutch at Dungeness (1652) and the Gabbard (1653).

The Fighting Instructions he issued with fellow commanders in 1653 codified the line-ahead formation. He burned the corsair fleet at Porto Farina in 1655 and destroyed the Spanish treasure fleet at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in April 1657, and died off Plymouth in August 1657.