William Dampier

This article is about the explorer. For the scientist, see William Cecil Dampier.

William Dampier
Oil on canvas portrait of Dampier holding a book
Portrait of Dampier holding his book, a painting by Thomas Murray (c. 1697–1698)
Bornbaptised 5 September 1651
East Coker, Somerset, England
DiedMarch 1715 (aged 63)
London, England
NationalityEnglish and, after the Union, British
Occupation(s)Privateer and explorer
Known forExploring and mapping Australia, Circumnavigation
SpouseJudith Dampier

William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651;[1] died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate,[2] privateer, navigator, 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.[3] He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian,[4] as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between Sir Francis Drake (16th century) and Captain James Cook (18th century); he "bridged those two eras" with a mix of piratical derring-do of the former and scientific inquiry of the latter.[5] His 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.[6]

After impressing the British Admiralty with his book A New Voyage Round the World, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship and made important discoveries in western Australia, before being court-martialed for cruelty. On a later voyage he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier include George Anson, James Cook, Horatio Nelson, Charles Darwin, and Alfred Russel Wallace.

  1. ^ "Out of the Library". The Sunday Times. Perth, W.A.: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1933. p. 17, Sect. A. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  2. ^ Mundle, Rob. Great South Land: How Dutch Sailors found Australia and an English Pirate almost beat Captain Cook. Harper Collins.
  3. ^ "Arrival of English explorer William Dampier". National Museum of Australia. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  4. ^ George, Alexander S. (1999). William Dampier in New Holland: Australia's First Natural Historian. Hawthorn, Vic.: Bloomings Books. ISBN 978-187-64-7312-9.
  5. ^ Preston, Diana & Preston, Michael (2004). A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William Dampier. New York: Walker & Company. pp. 5–6. ISBN 9780802714251.
  6. ^ Fater, Luke (26 July 2019). "The Pirate Who Penned the First English-Language Guacamole Recipe". Atlas Obscura. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2 February 2021.