1622 – 18 November 1692) is a British Admiral of the Restoration Navy.
He takes part in the second and third Anglo-Dutch wars, both of which he is, by some, credited with having started.
He is made governor of the Isle of Wight, where he is buried in Yarmouth parish church.
Holmes is chiefly remembered for his exploits on the cruise to Guinea (1664) for the Royal African Company, and for the so-called Holmes's Bonfire of 1666.
He is regarded as an archetypal figure both of the quarrelsome restoration officer and of the coming into being of the British professional naval officer.
