DRAKE, SIR FRANCIS

born c. 1540, 43, Devonshire, Eng. died Jan. 28, 1596, at sea, off Puerto Bello, Panama Sir Francis Drake, oil painting by an unknown artist; in the National Portrait Gallery, London English admiral who circumnavigated the globe (157780), played an important role in defeating the Spanish Armada (1588), and was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age. Additional reading There is no definitive biography of Drake. Of the comparatively short biographies available, the most useful is probably that by C.C. Lloyd (1957). J.A. Williamson, Sir Francis Drake (1951), is the work of an author expert in the naval and exploratory history of the period. E.D.S. Bradford, Drake (1965), is light and readable. Books placing Drake in his contemporary setting include J.A. Williamson, The Age of Drake, 5th ed. (1965); Julian Corbett's old but still valuable classic, Drake and the Tudor Navy, 2 vol. (1898); and K.R. Andrews, Drake's Voyages: A Reassessment of Their Place in Elizabethan Maritime Expansion (1967). Collections of documents, such as letters and narratives referring to the voyages, include New Light on Drake: A Collection of Documents Relating to His Voyage of Circumnavigation, 15771580, ed. by Zelia Nuttall (1914); The Last Voyage of Drake and Hawkins, ed. by K.R. Andrews (1972); and California Historical Society, Drake's Plate of Brass: Evidence of His Visit to California in 1597 (1937).