Sir John Barham

Sir Johnathan Bertrand Barham was an English nobleman and Sea Captain from Lancashire who first sighted, logged, and recorded the island that was to become the Freethinker Mainland on the 17th of July 1654 whilst making sail for South America.

Upon his retirement from the sea, he settled down on an estate several miles west of Pebble Landing. During the 'War Of The Mainland' between the English and Spanish colonists, he commandered the small Colonial Navy to some surprising victories in the conflict, and was present at the surrender of Navarre in 1672.

At the age of 68, on 1st April 1680, Barham fell victim to an outbreak of the Plague after visiting Navarre. He was survived by two sons, Jacob and Joshua, and in his will left a considerable some of money to establish a 'School of the Navy' at Navarre that saw the foundation of what was to become the Freethinker Naval College.