Kitty Fisher, Keppel, Braddock, Joshua Reynolds Dec 1759
They all knew Kitty. What also connects them all? A painting. Joshua Reynolds painted the first portrait of Kitty Fisher in 1759, the Marilyn Monroe of her day. Maybe even the Betty Grable pinup girl of her day, because this portrait was reproduced on broad sheets for the masses. It was done shortly after she fell off a horse. So the masses loved the analogy of a fallen woman.
She beat Paris Hilton on this one:
She was one of the world's first celebrities who was not famous for being an actress, musician, or member of the royalty, but simply for being famous. - wikipedia.
But unlike Paris Hilton, Kitty Fisher lived in a world of Chattel, a world of little or no independence, except the dependence of hitching a ride to a Man of Means.
Kitty Fisher lived a short life.
So what about Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel and Braddock?
Keppel commanded the fleet of ships carrying Braddock and his men. Keppel was an admirer of Kitty, along with everyone else high and low.
And of course the connection to this website? Slim as that connection it is? It's only because Braddock actually came to Winchester VA for a few days to see if our Indian allies would show up. They didn't.
Of course Braddock never got to see this painting of Kitty.
Kitty Fisher (1741–1767) as Cleopatra Dissolving the Pearl
Painting by Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792)
Painted in 1759
That's it.
That's our lead story.
There's always more.
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Compiled by Jim Moyer Nov 2023, updated 12/1/23, 12/2/23, 12/23/2023
Table of Contents
Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt, might have indeed drunk a pearl cocktail in a gulp, an experimental study has concluded.
Legend has it that, in order to show her wealth and power, Cleopatra VII (69 B.C. - 30 B.C.) made a bet with her lover — the Roman leader Marc Antony — that she could spend 10 million sesterces on one meal.
"She ordered the second course to be served. In accordance with previous instructions, the servants placed in front of her only a single vessel containing vinegar. She took one earring off, and dropped the pearl in the vinegar, and when it was wasted away, swallowed it," Roman naturalist and philosopher Pliny the Elder (23 - 79 A.D.) wrote in his Natural History.
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Keppel the Admirer of Kitty
Keppel Around the world
Keppel went to sea at the age of ten, and had already five years of service to his credit when he was appointed to Centurion and sent with Lord Anson round the world in 1740.[1] He had a very narrow escape from being killed at the capture of Paita (13 November 1741) and was promoted to acting lieutenant in March 1742.[2][1] Also on this voyage, he made friends with John Campbell, and lost many of his teeth to the scurvy prevalent on the voyage. After their return from the circumnavigation, in November 1744, he was promoted to be commander and post-captain of the 14-gun sloopWolf.[3]
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Which Ship Keppel and Braddock on?
Wikipedia states Keppel's flag (Broad Pennant) was on the ship Norwich, but David Preston states Keppel was on the Centurion and Braddock on the Norwich.
Wikipedia states, "During the Seven Years' War he [Keppel] saw constant service. He served as Commodore on the North American Station with his broad pennant in the fourth-rate Norwich from 1751 to 1755.[7]"
Preston states on page 65 of his book, Braddock's Defeat:
The warships and transports crowding Cork Harbor were a powerful reminder that Braddock's Expedition owed its launch to the Royal Navy. Braddock was fortunate that his Royal Navy counterpart was Commodore Augustus Keppel, who though aged thirty years, was an old salt by virtue of having joined the navy at age ten. One admiral had declared that there was "no better seaman than Keppel, few so good, and not a better officer." Keppel commanded "Centurion" in 1755, a ship on which he had been acting lieutenant when his patron, Commodore George Anson, had circumnavigated the globe between 1740 and 1744. The wars of Jenkin's Ear and Austrian Secession demonstrated the Royal Navy's growing proficiency in amphibious operations . . . . Braddock and Keppel had such an uncommonly harmonious relationship that one officer thought that there were, "never, I believe two men placed at the head of different commands [who] co-operated with more spirit, integrity and harmony for the publick service."
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