born с 1540–43, Devonshire, Eng.
died Jan. 28, 1596, at sea, off Puerto Bello, Panama
English admiral, the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age.
Son of a tenant farmer, he went to sea at age 13 to escape his family's poverty. He gained a reputation as an outstanding seaman and became wealthy through raids against Spanish colonies. In 1577 he was commissioned by Elizabeth I to lead an expedition to South America and beyond. He set sail with five ships, but ultimately only his flagship, the Golden Hind , made its way through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific and up the coast of South and North America; he then turned south to anchor off modern San Francisco, claiming the area for Elizabeth. He sailed westward to the Philippines and around the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to Plymouth, Eng., in 1580 laden with treasure, the first captain ever to sail his own ship around the world and the first Englishman to sail the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic oceans. In 1581 he was knighted and made mayor of Plymouth. Appointed vice admiral (1588), he played a crucial role in defeating the Spanish Armada and became England's hero, achieving a popularity unequaled until Horatio Nelson 's time more than 200 years later. On his last voyage, to the West Indies, he succumbed to fever and was buried at sea.
Sir Francis Drake, oil painting by an unknown artist; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London