EXPLORER

William Adams

1564 - 1620

Photo of William Adams

Icon of person William Adams

William Adams (Japanese: ウィリアム・アダムス, Hepburn: Wiriamu Adamusu, historical kana orthography: ウヰリアム・アダムス; 24 September 1564 – 16 May 1620), better known in Japan as Miura Anjin (三浦按針, 'the pilot of Miura'), was an English navigator who, in 1600, became the first Englishman to reach Japan. He was later granted samurai status, and was recognized as one of the most influential foreigners in Japan during the early 17th century. He arrived in Japan as one of the few survivors of the ship De Liefde under the leadership of Jacob Quaeckernaeck. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Adams has received more than 89,505 page views. His biography is available in 31 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). William Adams is the 54th most popular explorer (down from 52nd in 2019), the 459th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 470th in 2019) and the 7th most popular British Explorer.

William Adams, also known as Miura Anjin, was a navigator and explorer who helped the Tokugawa shogunate establish trade with the Western world. He is most famous for his role in the opening of Japan to the Western world.

Memorability Metrics

  • 90k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 70.14

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 31

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.70

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.23

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, William Adams ranks 54 out of 498. Before him are Louis Antoine de Bougainville, Robert Falcon Scott, Samuel de Champlain, Giovanni da Verrazzano, Ernest Shackleton, and Diogo Cão. After him are Hanno the Navigator, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, John Smith, Henry Hudson, and Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1564, William Adams ranks 5. Before him are Galileo Galilei, William Shakespeare, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, and Christopher Marlowe. After him are Paulo Miki, David Fabricius, Ahmad Sirhindi, Hans Leo Hassler, Francisco Pacheco, Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Federico Borromeo. Among people deceased in 1620, William Adams ranks 5. Before him are Mahfiruz Hatun, Wanli Emperor, Simon Stevin, and Taichang Emperor. After him are Stanisław Żółkiewski, Louise de Coligny, Carlo Saraceni, Jan Sarkander, William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Archduchess Eleanor of Austria, and Firishta.

Others Born in 1564

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Others Deceased in 1620

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William Adams ranks 459 out of 8,785. Before him are Princess Muna al-Hussein (1941), John Knox (1514), Thomas Gainsborough (1727), John Bonham (1948), John Edward Gray (1800), and Thomas Harriot (1560). After him are Austen Chamberlain (1863), Daphne du Maurier (1907), John Wallis (1616), Edward the Martyr (962), Joshua Reynolds (1723), and Julia Gillard (1961).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among EXPLORERS In United Kingdom

Among explorers born in United Kingdom, William Adams ranks 7. Before him are James Cook (1728), Francis Drake (1540), David Livingstone (1813), Henry Morton Stanley (1841), William Baffin (1584), and Robert Falcon Scott (1868). After him are John Smith (1580), Henry Hudson (1570), John Davis (1550), Richard Francis Burton (1821), William Dampier (1651), and James Clark Ross (1800).

British born Explorers

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