John Davis (English explorer)
| John Davis | |
 17th century painting of Davis
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| Born | 1550? Sandridge, Devon, England |
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| Died | December 29, 1605 Bintan, Sumatra |
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Nationality | English |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Occupation | Explorer, navigator |
| Known for | Davis Strait, discovered the Falkland Islands, invented the backstaff |
| Spouse(s) | Faith Fulford |
John Davis (1550?-December 29 1605), was one of the chief English navigators and explorers under Elizabeth I, especially in Polar regions.
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Early life
Davis (Davys) was born at Sandridge near Dartmouth around 1550. From a boy he was a sailor, and early went on voyages with Adrian Gilbert; both the Gilbert and Raleigh families were Devonians of his own neighbourhood, and through life he seems to have profited by their friendship.
Command of the Black Dog
In 1588 he seems to have commanded the Black Dog against the Spanish Armada; in 1589 he joined the earl of Cumberland off the Azores; and in 1591 he accompanied Thomas Cavendish on his last voyage, with the special purpose, as he tells us, of searching that north-west discovery upon the back parts of America. After the rest of Cavendish's expedition returned unsuccessful, he continued to attempt on his own account the passage of the Strait of Magellan; though defeated here by foul weather, he discovered the Falkland Islands in August 1592 aboard the vessel Desire. His crew was forced to kill around 124,000 penguins, though in his biography it is said that they killed 125,510 penguins, for food while on the Falkland Islands. They stored the penguin meat as well as they could and sailed for home, but the meat spoiled once they reached the tropics. This made the passage home disastrous, and he brought back only fourteen of his seventy-six men.
Later expeditions
In 1596-1597 Davis seems to have sailed with Raleigh (as master of Sir Walter's own ship) to Cádiz and the Azores; and in 1598-1600 he accompanied a Dutch expedition to the East Indies as pilot, sailing from Flushing, returning to Middleburg, and narrowly escaping destruction from treachery at Achin in Sumatra.
Books
After his return in 1593 he published a valuable treatise on practical navigation in The Seaman's Secrets (1594), and a more theoretical work in The World's Hydrographical Description (1595).
Inventions
His invention of backstaff and double quadrant (called a Davis Quadrant after him) held the field among English seamen till long after Hadley's reflecting quadrant had been introduced.[1]
Death
In 1601-1603 he accompanied Sir James Lancaster as first pilot on his voyage in the service of the British East India Company; and in December 1604 he sailed again for the same destination as pilot to Sir Edward Michelborne (or Michelbourn). On this journey he was killed by Japanese pirates off Bintang near Sumatra.
See also
References
- ^ "John Davis: Master Navigator", Collections Canada (2004-03-19). Retrieved on 16 September 2008.
External links
- The Seaman's Secrets text of Davis' publication with illustrations.
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