Early life

Fairborne was the son of Colonel Stafford Fairborne of Newark-on-Trent

Newark-on-Trent

Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...

. When young he fought as a soldier of fortune in Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 at the siege of Candia

Siege of Candia

The Siege of Candia was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled city and were ultimately victorious. Lasting from 1648 to 1669, it was the longest siege in history.-Background:...

 by the Ottoman Turks

Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

; a Turk's head was afterwards included in his arms. At the age of seventeen Fairborne was back in England.

The Tangier Regiment

In the autumn of 1661 he enlisted as a captain in the newly formed Tangier Regiment of Foot. The regiment mustered one thousand strong, besides officers, on Putney Heath, 14 October, and sailed to garrison Tangier

Tangier

Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...

, under the command of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin

Murrough McDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin and 6th Baron Inchiquin , was known as Murchadh na dTóiteán ....

, in January 1662. During the next eighteen years Fairborne took a prominent part in the defence of Tangier, which was exposed to attacks from the Moors, receiving the honour of knighthood for his services. By 1664 he had risen to the rank of major. In 1667 he fought a duel with a brother officer. The account Fairborne gives of the condition of the city in his letters home is deplorable; stores and victuals ran short, and constant desertions took place. Fairborne rode on one occasion alone into the enemy's lines, and brought a deserter back in triumph on his horse (26 December 1669).

In May 1676 he was made joint deputy-governor in the absence of William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin

William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin

William McMurrough O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin was an Irish nobleman.-Life:William O'Brien was the son of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin and Elisabeth St. Leger...

, and on the death (21 November) of his coadjutor, Colonel Allsop, he had the sole command for the next two years. Under Fairborne improvements took place both in the discipline of the garrison and in the construction of the mole for defence of the harbour. But pay was two years and a quarter in arrears; in December 1677 a mutiny took place. Fairborne wrenched a musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

 from a leading mutineer and shot him dead on the spot.

Governor of Tangier

In the spring of 1678 he went to England. Two years later, 25 March 1680, the Moors under their Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif

Ismail Ibn Sharif

Moulay Ismaïl Ibn Sharif was the second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty. Like others of the dynasty, Ismaïl claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad through his roots to Hassan ibn Ali...

 (Muley Hassan), blockaded Tangier, and Fairborne returned early in April to conduct the defence as sole governor and commander-in-chief. In July a new governor, Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory

Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory

Vice-Admiral Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, KG, PC, PC was the eldest son of the James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and Lady Elizabeth Preston, and an Irish politician born at Kilkenny Castle.-Life and career:...

, was appointed over Fairborne's head, in Inchiquin's place. Fairborne petitioned in August that his pay as commander-in-chief might not be taken away. Ossory died on 30 July, and Fairborne remained as sole defender of Tangier.

Death

The Moors made a further attack in October. On the 24th Fairborne, riding out of the town to inspect the defences, took part in a slight skirmish and was mortally wounded by a chance shot. After three days' fighting, which the dying governor watched from a balcony, the Moors were forced to raise the siege and repulsed with great loss, while Fairborne, lingering till the evening of 27 October, saw his troops march into the town. An account was given of his dying speech in a paper called The Tangiers Rescue, by John Ross, 1681. Three years after Fairborne's death Tangier was abandoned to the Moors, and the fortifications razed to the ground.

Family

By his wife, Margaret Devereux (first married to a Mr. Mansell), he left a large family in poverty, but in 1681 the king granted Lady Fairborne an annuity of £500; their eldest son, Stafford Fairborne

Stafford Fairborne

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Stafford Fairborne was a Royal Navy officer and politician who represented Rochester as a Member of Parliament from 1705 to 1710.-Naval career:...

, became a knight and rear-admiral. Lady Fairborne later remarried Jasper Paston, son of Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth

Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth

Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth, FRS was an English politician, nobleman and scientist. The Paston family had a long history. His father William , was created a baronet in 1642, and on his death was succeeded in the title by Robert. Robert was subsequently created a Viscount and then became an...

. She died in 1698, and was buried in Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

. She erected a monument in the nave of the abbey to Fairborne, by John Bushnell

John Bushnell

John Bushnell was an English sculptor, known for several outstanding funeral monuments in English churches and Westminster Abbey. Several anecdotes concerning his haughty disposition and increasing eccentricity were repeated in artistic circles and recorded in the eighteenth century by George...

, with an epitaph by John Dryden

John Dryden

John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...

recounting his exploits.