EXPLORER

William Dampier

1651 - 1715

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William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, 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. 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 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. 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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Dampier has received more than 808,341 page views. His biography is available in 50 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 49 in 2019). William Dampier is the 75th most popular explorer (down from 64th in 2019), the 607th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 608th in 2019) and the 12th most popular British Explorer.

William Dampier was an English explorer and privateer. He was most famous for exploring the west coast of Australia in 1699.

Memorability Metrics

  • 810k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.39

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 50

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.93

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.07

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, William Dampier ranks 75 out of 498. Before him are Xu Fu, Alonso de Ojeda, Willem Schouten, Jules Dumont d'Urville, Richard Francis Burton, and Hernando de Soto. After him are Jeanne Baret, Ármin Vámbéry, Diego Columbus, Lope de Aguirre, Willem Janszoon, and Stepan Makarov.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1651, William Dampier ranks 4. Before him are Margaret Theresa of Spain, François Fénelon, and Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. After him are Natalya Naryshkina, Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, Engelbert Kaempfer, Madame d'Aulnoy, Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld, Charles II, Elector Palatine, Charles Eugène de Croÿ, and Dimitry of Rostov. Among people deceased in 1715, William Dampier ranks 8. Before him are Nicolas Malebranche, Gülnuş Sultan, François Fénelon, Dom Pérignon, Antoine Galland, and Marie Mancini. After him are Thomas Savery, Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, Pu Songling, Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, François Girardon, and Mirwais Hotak.

Others Born in 1651

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Others Deceased in 1715

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William Dampier ranks 607 out of 8,785. Before him are Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (1453), Annie Besant (1847), Amélie of Orléans (1865), Norman Angell (1872), James III of Scotland (1451), and Philip Sclater (1829). After him are Fred Perry (1909), Louis Wain (1860), Thomas Hardy (1840), James II of Scotland (1430), Nigel Mansell (1953), and Brian Epstein (1934).

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Among EXPLORERS In United Kingdom

Among explorers born in United Kingdom, William Dampier ranks 12. Before him are Robert Falcon Scott (1868), William Adams (1564), John Smith (1580), Henry Hudson (1570), John Davis (1550), and Richard Francis Burton (1821). After him are James Clark Ross (1800), Robert FitzRoy (1805), Mary Kingsley (1862), Thomas Cavendish (1560), George Vancouver (1757), and Isabella Bird (1831).

British born Explorers

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