born 0441; 1476, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng., or Venice
died 1557, London
English navigator, explorer, and cartographer.
The son of John Cabot , he served at various times both the English and Spanish crowns. In 1525 he took charge of a Spanish expedition, abandoning the original goal of developing trade with the Orient and instead embarking on a fruitless expedition to South America. Later he served in England as governor of the Merchant Adventurers, organizing an expedition to search for a northeast passage from Europe to the Orient.