Josiah Burchett

Josiah Burchett (c.1665 – 2 October 1746), of Hampstead, Middlesex, was a British naval administrator and Whig politician, who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1705 and 1741. He was Secretary of the Admiralty in England, a position he held for almost fifty years from 26 September 1694 to 14 October 1742. In addition to his administrative duties, he was the author of the first general history of the Royal Navy, published in 1720 and based on official Admiralty records. Provided by Wikipedia