Edward Vernon ("Old Grog") (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster, England and went to Westminster School. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years. He was appointed Captain in 1706, taking command of HMS Rye, part of the fleet of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. With HMS Rye he narrowly escaped the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 in which Shovell and nearly 2,000 sailors were lost. In the next ten years Vernon was on half pay for half of this time. In May 1728 he took up parliamentary duties and the case of Robert Jenkins, who was alleged to have had his ear cut off by Spanish coastguards in the Caribbean. This led to the War of Jenkins' Ear in 173