William Dampier

William Dampier was the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He was one of the most important British explorers between Sir Walter Raleigh and James Cook. After impressing the British Admiralty with his book, A New Voyage Round the World, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship. On a later voyage, he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe....See more

William Dampier was the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He was one of the most important British explorers between Sir Walter Raleigh and James Cook. After impressing the British Admiralty with his book, A New Voyage Round the World, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship. On a later voyage, he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier's travels include Lord Nelson and Charles Darwin. See less