The September 23, 1568, its walls witnessed the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa, in which a fleet of bodyguards of the Spanish Armada, led by General Francisco Luján beat a fleet of British pirates under the command of Francis Drake and John Hawkins.
John Hawkins is often considered to be the pioneer of the British slave trade, because he was the first to run the Triangular trade, making a profit at every stop.
Charles Burney and John Hawkins both published specimens of his compositions in their works on the history of music, while Henry Aldrich collected an almost complete set of his compositions, which are currently housed at the library of Christ Church College, Oxford.
In 1730, he married Mary (Polly) Hawkins (descendant of John Hawkins), with whom he would have 12 children.
John F. Kennedy | Pope John Paul II | Elton John | John | John Lennon | John Wayne | John McCain | John Kerry | John Cage | Olivia Newton-John | John Williams | John Peel | John Adams | John Steinbeck | John Travolta | John Milton | John Zorn | John Marshall | John Howard | John Singer Sargent | John Ruskin | John Updike | John Maynard Keynes | John Coltrane | John Cleese | St. John's | John Waters | John Lee Hooker | John Huston | John Ford |
At the south (Thames) side of the Square the houses are Grenville, Drake, Raleigh and Hawkins.
Born at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Hawkins was the son of John Hawkins, a solicitor, and Susanna, daughter of Theed Pearse.