Marshall, born in
Ramsgate,
Kent, England, became an apprentice sailor at age ten, and spent his life at sea. He saw action during the
American Revolutionary War of 1778 to 1783. In 1788 he captained
Scarborough, a ship of the
First Fleet taking convicts from England to
Botany Bay in
New South Wales. He then sailed from
Australia to
China, charting previously unknown islands (mainly some of
Gilbert Islands and
Marshall Islands), as well as a new trade route to
Canton (present-day Guangzhou). The islands which he had originally called "Lord Mulgrove's range" were later named by
Thomas Gilbert the "
Marshall Islands". John Marshall also captained
Scarborough on her second voyage transporting convicts to Australia in 1790. The convicts coming aboard were in poor health and many did not survive the voyage; this, combined with an attempted seizure of the ship by the convicts, deterred him from any further voyages of transportation. During the
Napoleonic Wars of 1803 to 1815, as captain of the ship , he was severely wounded while repulsing an attack by a French
privateer. John Marshall died in 1819 at the age of 71. ==References==