File:Dampier-portrait.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
William Dampier was an English pirate and explorer who traveled the world's oceans during the late 1600s and early 1700s, participating in raids on Spanish ships and settlements while also documenting the lands and peoples he encountered. His voyages and detailed written accounts contributed to European geographical knowledge and made him one of the first English circumnavigators, though his legacy remains complicated by his criminal activities.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Born
- 1651, East Coker , Somerset
- Died
- March 1715 (aged 63), London , England
- Occupations
- Privateer and explorer
- Known for
- Exploring and mapping Australia, Circumnavigation
- Spouse
- Judith Dampier
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- William
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Place of birth
- East Coker
- Place of death
- London
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Image
- Dampier-portrait.jpg
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- William Dampier
- date of death
- 1715-01-01
- Commons gallery
- William Dampier
- has works in the collection
- Australian National Maritime Museum
- P6944
- William Dampier
- name in native language
- William Dampier
- date of baptism
- 1652-09-05
- date of birth
- 1651-00-00
- Commons Creator page
- William Dampier
- collection items at
- Natural History Museum
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~23 min read
Encyclopedic overview
William Dampier (1651 – March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian, as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between the 16th-century explorer Sir Francis Drake and the 18th-century explorer James Cook; he "bridged those two eras" with a mix of piratical derring-do of the former and scientific inquiry of the latter.
Dampier's expeditions were among the first to identify and name a number of plants, animals, foods and cooking techniques for a European audience, being among the first English writers to use words such as avocado, barbecue and chopsticks. In describing the preparation of avocados, he was the first European to describe the making of guacamole, named the breadfruit plant, and made frequent documentation of the taste of numerous foods foreign to the European palate at the time, such as flamingo and manatee.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “William Dampier” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.