William Dampier
(1651-1715), Circumnavigator and hydrographerLater Stuart Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 4 portraits
Dampier was at various times a merchant seaman, planter, buccaneer, pirate, and an explorer. Famed as the first person to circumnavigate the globe three times, he visited the Galapagos before Charles Darwin, and Australia before Captain Cook. His travel accounts, New Voyage Round the World (1697) and A Voyage to New Holland (1703), became well-known, proving essential for later maritime expeditions. They also inspired literature such as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Among the many words that he introduced into the English language are 'banana', 'barbecue' and 'chopsticks'.
by Thomas Murray
oil on canvas, circa 1697-1698
NPG 538
after Thomas Murray
line engraving, late 18th to early 19th century
NPG D31527
by Charles Sherwin, after Thomas Murray
line engraving, published 1787
NPG D2251
by John Horsburgh
line engraving, early 19th century
NPG D31526
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