There are two artists called John Jenkins: 1. John Jenkins (1592–1678) was an English composer. Jenkins was born in Maidstone, Kent, the son of Henry Jenkins, a carpenter who occasionally made musical instruments. Little is known of his early life, and the first positive historical record of him is as one of the musicians who performed the Masque The Triumph of Peace in 1634 at the court of King Charles I. The English Civil War that broke out in 1642 forced Jenkins, as it did many others, to migrate to the countryside. Read more on Last.fm