RICHARD, master gunner of England, was born at Harwich in 1629, and was bred to the sea. At the Restoration, he was made master gunner of the Princes, a frigate of 50 guns; and in the first Dutch war distinguished himself by his skill and bravery in two extraordinary actions; one against 15 sail of Dutch men of war; and another in 1667 against two Danes in the Baltic, in which the commanding officers of the Princes being killed or desperately wounded, the command, according to the rules of war at that time, fell to the gunner. In 1669, he was promoted to be gunner of the Royal Prince, a first rate man of war. He was engaged, with his two sons, Henry and John, in the battle against Van Tromp, in 1673; when the Royal Prince had all her masts shot away, near 400 of her men killed and disabled, and most of her upper tier of guns dismounted. As the lay thus like a wreck, a great Dutch man of war came down upon her with two fire ships, either to burn or carry her off; and Captain Rooke, afterwards Sir George, thinking it impossible to defend her, ordered the men to save their lives, and the colours to be struck. Mr Leake hearing this, ordered the lieutenant off the quarter deck, and took the command upon himself, saying, "The Royal Prince shall never be given up to the enemy while I am alive to defend her." The undaunted spirit of the brave gunner inspired the small residue of the ship's company with resolution; they returned with alacrity to the fight, and under the direction of this valiant gunner and his two sons sunk both the fire ships, and obliged the man of war to sheer off; and having thus saved the Royal Prince, he brought her into Chatham. But Mr Leake's joy in obtaining this victory was damped by the loss of Henry, his eldest son, who was killed near him. Soon after, Mr Leake was preferred to the command of a yacht, and also made gunner of Whitehall. In 1677, he obtained a grant for life of the office of master gunner of England, and storekeeper of the ordnance at Woolwich. By this post he had full scope for his genius.

He accordingly, among other things, invented the culverin piece; and contrived to fire a mortar by the blast of a piece, which has been used ever since. He was also the principal contriver of what the French call infernals, used at the bombardment of St Malo's in 1693. Mr Leake had a surprising genius for all inventions of this kind; and had frequent trials of skill with French and Dutch gunners and engineers in Woolwich Warren, at which King Charles II. and the duke of York were often present, and he never failed to excel all his competitors: nor was he less skilled in the art of making compositions for fireworks; of which he likewise made frequent trials with equal success.

Sir John, an English admiral, distinguished by his bravery and success, was born in 1656, and was taught mathematics and gunnery by Mr Richard Leake his father, who was master gunner of England. Entering early into the navy, he distinguished himself under his father in 1673, in the memorable engagement between Sir Edward Spragg and Van Tromp, when but 16 years of age; and being afterwards made captain, he signalized himself, among other occasions, by executing the desperate attempt of conveying some victuallers into Londonderry, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege; and at the famous battle of La Hogue. In 1702, being made commodore of a squadron, he destroyed the French trade and settlements at Newfoundland, and restored the English to the possession of the whole island. On his return he was created rear admiral; soon after, he was made vice admiral of the blue, and was afterwards knighted. He was engaged with Admiral Rooke in taking Gibraltar; soon after which, he particularly distinguished himself in the general engagement off Malaga; when commanding the leading squadron of the van, consisting only of six ships, he drove that of the enemy, consisting of 13, out of the line of battle, so disabled that they never returned to the fight. In 1705, he relieved Gibraltar, which the French had besieged by sea, and the Spaniards by land, so seasonably, that the enemy was to have attacked the town that very night in several places, and would undoubtedly have made themselves masters of it. Five hundred Spaniards had, by the help of rope ladders, climbed up the rocks by a way that was thought inaccessible. At the same time they had got a great number of boats to land 3000 men at the New Mole, who, by making a vigorous assault on the side next the sea, were to draw the garrison to oppose the attack, while the 500 concealed men rushed into the town. These being the next day drawn by hunger out of their ambuscade, were discovered; on which Sir John afflicting the garrison with sailors and marines, they were attacked with such vigour, that though they had taken an oath not to surrender to the English, 190 common soldiers and 35 officers took quarter: 200 were killed on the spot; and the rest, who endeavoured to make their escape, fell headlong down the rock. He was soon after made vice admiral of the white, and then twice relieved that fortress. The last time, he attacked five ships of the French fleet coming out of the bay, of whom two were taken, and two run ashore and were destroyed: Baron Pointi died soon after, of the wounds he received in the battle; and in a few days the enemy raised the siege. sieve. In the year 1705 Sir John was engaged in the reduction of Barcelona; and the next year relieved that city, when it was reduced to the last extremity, and obliged King Philip to raise the siege. Soon after he took the city of Carthagena; from whence proceeding to Alicante and Joyce, both these submitted to him; and he concluded the exploits of that year with the reduction of the city and island of Majorca. Upon his return home, Prince George of Denmark made him a present of a ring valued at £400, and he had the honour of receiving £1000 from the queen as a reward for his services. Upon the unhappy death of Sir Cloudesly Shovel, in 1707, he was made admiral of the white, and commander-in-chief of her majesty's fleet; and the next year, surprising a convoy of the enemy's corn, he sent it to Barcelona, and thus saved both that city and the confederate army from the danger of famine: soon after convoying the new queen of Spain to King Charles her consort, her majesty made him a present of a diamond ring of £500 value. He then proceeded to the island of Sardinia, which he reduced to the obedience of King Charles; and soon after assisted the lord Stanhope in the conquest of Minorca. Then returning home, he was appointed one of the council to the lord high admiral; and in 1709 was made rear admiral of Great Britain. He was several times chosen member of parliament for Rochester; and in 1712 conducted the English forces to take possession of Dunkirk. But upon the accession of King George I. he was superfluous, and allowed a pension of £600 a-year. After this he lived privately till his death, which happened at his house in Greenwich in 1720.

Leake, Stephen Martin, Esq., son of Captain Martin, went through different ranks in the herald's office till he came to be garter. He was the first person who wrote professedly on our English coins, two editions of his "Historical Account" of which were published by him with plates, under the title of Nummi Britannici Historia, London, 1726, 8vo.; the second, much improved, London, 1745, 8vo. He printed, in 1750, "The Life of Sir John Leake, knight, admiral of the fleet," &c., to whom he was indebted for a considerable estate; which the admiral devised to trustees for the use of his son for life; and upon his death to Captain Martin (who married Lady Leake's sister) and his heirs: By which means it came to the Captain's son; who, in gratitude to the memory of Sir John Leake, wrote an accurate account of his life, of which only 50 copies were printed. In 1766, he printed also 50 copies of "The Statutes of the Order of the Garter," &c. He died in 1773; and was buried in his chancel in the parish church of Thorp in Essex, of which manor he was lord.