John Mitford

John Mitford (22 January 1782 – 24 December 1831) was a British naval officer, poet and journalist who is best remembered for his book The adventures of Johnny Newcome in the navy.

Early life and naval career

Mitford was born at Mitford, Northumberland. As one of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle he was a cousin to Admiral Robert Mitford the bird-artist and Philip Meadows Taylor (author of Confessions of a Thug), and distantly related to Lord Redesdale (attorney general), William Mitford (historian), the Reverend John Mitford, and Mary Russell Mitford (author of Our Village). The younger son of a younger son, Mitford had to make his own way in life and he chose a career in the navy. The patronage of his relative Lord Redesdale secured him a place as a midshipman on the in April 1795.

Mitford was present at the Battle of Hyères Islands on 13 July 1795. The next year he moved into the with Captain (later Sir) Samuel Hood, and was present at the disastrous attack on Santa Cruz in July 1797, and at the battle of the Nile on 1–2 August 1798. Mitford afterwards served under Hood in the and was with him in 1801 in the . From 1804 to 1806 he commanded a revenue cutter on the coast of Ireland, and from 1809 to 1811 was acting-master of the brig in the Mediterranean. In the spring of 1813 Bridget Perceval and Mitford 'overleaped the bounds the prudence' "All private mad-houses are alike public evils, that should be destroyed" wrote Mitford. The king is a true British sailor, a song about King William IV. Other works have been attributed to Mitford, including: Confessions of Julia Johnstone, written by herself in contradiction to the fables of Harriette Wilson (1825)

As an editor, he worked on: Scourge, or Monthly exposure of Imposture and Folly (1811–1814); New Bon-Ton magazine or the Telescope of the Times (1818–21); New London Rambler’s Magazine (1828–30). At the time of his death he was editing the Quizzical Gazette and Merry Companion.

Mitford died of a chest infection in St Giles workhouse in December 1831, aged 49, and was buried in the graveyard at St Dunstan's, Fleet Street. William Howitt referred to him as "one of the most deplorable instances of misused talents, and one of the most pitiable victims of intemperance and want of prudence", while another Victorian writer described him in the following terms: "Jack was a respectable classical scholar, and possessed some literary ability; but, instead of devoting his talents to any useful purpose, he prostituted them to the lowest ends. Drink, drink, drink! became his besetment and from the day it did so his ignoble fate was sealed." More recently he has been described as "a brilliant hack satirist with an intimate knowledge of the Royal domestic politics" and capable of "more than passable satirical verse".