Sir Francis Drake

c. 1540 – 1596 · died at about 56^[1][2]

Exploration

Fun Facts About Sir Francis Drake

• Sir Francis Drake was not knighted by Elizabeth I herself: a French diplomat performed the dubbing aboard the Golden Hind in 1581, and the Victorians later spread the story that the queen did it.^[1][3][4]
• The famous story that Drake finished a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before fighting the Spanish Armada is probably apocryphal: there is no eyewitness account, and it first appeared in print 37 years later.^[1]
• Drake and his lieutenant John Oxenham climbed a giant tree in Panama and became the first Englishmen to see the Pacific Ocean, vowing to sail it one day.^[1]
• When Drake returned from sailing around the world in 1580, the queen's half-share of his cargo was worth more than all the rest of the crown's income for that year.^[1][3][4]
• Drake's 1587 raid on the Spanish fleet at Cádiz became known as the "singeing of the King's beard" and delayed the Spanish invasion of England by a year.^[1]
• Drake asked to be dressed in his full armor before he died, and was buried at sea in a lead-lined coffin near Portobelo that divers are still searching for.^[1]
• Sir Francis Drake was alive at the same time as Nicolaus Copernicus — their lives overlapped for about 3 years (c. 1540–1543).^[1][2][5][6]
• Sir Francis Drake and Charlemagne died on the same day of the year, January 28.^[1][2][7][8]

Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer and privateer best known for making the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580. He is also known for participating in the early English slaving voyages of his cousin, John Hawkins, and John Lovell. Having started as a simple seaman, in 1588 he was part of the fight against the Spanish Armada as a vice admiral.^[1]

Contemporaries

Elizabeth I

56 yr overlap

Akbar the Great

54 yr overlap

Tokugawa Ieyasu

53 yr overlap

Tycho Brahe

50 yr overlap

Miguel de Cervantes

49 yr overlap

Francis Bacon

35 yr overlap

Galileo Galilei

32 yr overlap

William Shakespeare

32 yr overlap

Suleiman the Magnificent

26 yr overlap

Caravaggio

25 yr overlap

Johannes Kepler

25 yr overlap

Michelangelo

24 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Sir Francis Drake

When was Sir Francis Drake born?

Sir Francis Drake was born about 1540 and died on January 28, 1596.

How old was Sir Francis Drake at death?

Sir Francis Drake died in 1596 at about 56 years old (c. 1540–1596).

What was Sir Francis Drake known for?

Sir Francis Drake was known for: English sea captain, circumnavigator. Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer and privateer best known for making the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580. He is also known for participating in the early English slaving voyages of his cousin, John Hawkins, and John Lovell. Having started as a simple seaman, in 1588 he was part of the fight against the Spanish Armada as a vice admiral.

Who was alive at the same time as Sir Francis Drake?

Sir Francis Drake's closest contemporary was Elizabeth I. Their lives overlapped for 56 years.