Politics · Technology · Exploration · 1540–1596
Born: 13 July 1540 · Died: 28 January 1596 · Age at death: 55
Francis Drake died aged 55. He was born on 13 July 1540 and died on 28 January 1596.
English sea captain and privateer who sailed around the world from 1577 to 1580 and fought the Spanish Armada
Did you know?He was reportedly playing a game of bowls when he received news that the Spanish Armada was approaching.
Francis Drake was the most famous sailor of Elizabethan England. To the English he was a hero; to Spain he was a pirate. He made his name raiding Spanish ships and ports in the Americas. Between 1577 and 1580 he sailed the Golden Hind around the world, returning loaded with treasure. Elizabeth I knighted him on board his ship. In 1587 he attacked the Spanish fleet at Cádiz, boasting that he had "singed the King of Spain's beard". The next year he helped defeat the Armada. He died of dysentery at sea off Panama.
Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer and privateer best known for making the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (being the first English expedition to accomplish this).
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Profile
English navigator, c. 1540–1596
Francis Drake was born near Tavistock around 1540.
He sailed around the world from 1577 to 1580.
He was knighted by Elizabeth I in 1581.
He helped defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Career highlights
Did you know?He was the first captain to sail his own ship all the way around the world.
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