What killed Naval hero John Paul Jones?(eumonia an incidental finding not likely...),Health

While John Paul Jones is honored today for his numerous accomplishments, Dr. Bogle says he was not well accepted by other officers of his time because of his exaggerated sense of personal honor, over-the-top aggressiveness and what some said was a poor leadership style. "His need for fame and personal honor, not unusual for officers of his day, drove him to see his men as a means to achieve his personal goal," says Dr. Bogle.

The high point for Jones during the Revolution was his victory over the HMS Serapis in 1779, which British admiral Horatio Nelson claimed was the greatest naval feat in history. Jones was praised in both Europe and the United States for his seamanship, dogged courage and determination. In 1781, the Continental Congress voted to give him "the thanks of the United States." After the war, the Navy ceased to exist when Congress in 1785 auctioned off its last warship and sent home all its officers and men.

Jones, ever seeking to improve his craft, served briefly in Russia as an officer in the imperial fleet of Catherine the Great. He was known as a womanizer and left Russia in the wake of an apparently trumped-up rape charge by Russian officers and traveled to Paris, hoping without success to secure another naval commission.

Dr. Bogle says the recognition that John Paul Jones had sought his entire life finally came to fruition in the early 20th century. The first step took place in 1900 when Augustus C. Buell, an engineer turned historian, wrote a two-volume biography titled John Paul Jones: Founder of the American Navy. "Buell referred to letters he had fabricated that would portray Jones with qualities that officers of the day would have tried to emulate. Buell later claimed he couldn't remember his sources," says Dr. Bogle.

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