Dampier, William

Dampier, William ( 1652 – 1715 )
English explorer and adventurer. In 1683 he set out on a privateering expedition from Panama, crossing the Pacific to the Philippines, China, and Australia before eventually reaching England again in 1691 . In 1699 he was commissioned by the British government to explore the NW coast of Australia and circumnavigated the globe again, despite being shipwrecked on Ascension Island on the way home.