Alexander Selkirk
British sailor · United Kingdom · Historical Figures · Lived 1676 to 1721 · aged 45
Alexander Selkirk is read about 615 times a day, in 43 languages.
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Something wrong?A Scottish sailor who demanded to be marooned on an empty island in 1704 - and survived alone for over four years. His story gave Daniel Defoe the bones for Robinson Crusoe.
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Alexander Selkirk Statue
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Alexander Selkirk
Gedenksteen voor Alexander Selkirk 1676 - 1723 opgericht op het onbewoonde eiland in de Stille, SFA005001311_(14781172694).jpg?width=1200)
Man upon the sea - or, a history of maritime adventure, exploration, and discovery, from the earliest ages to the present time (1858) (14781172694)
Robinson Crusoe - geograph.org.uk - 239446
Robinson Crusoë, die eigenlijk Alexander Selkirk heette-Catchpenny print-SMC K 0089About this person
Alexander Selkirk was born in 1676, an unruly Scottish youth who turned to privateering during the War of the Spanish Succession. Sailing under William Dampier's command aboard the Cinque Ports, captained by Thomas Stradling, Selkirk grew convinced the vessel was dangerously unseaworthy when they stopped at the uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands, west of South America. He asked to be left behind - and was. His instinct proved right: Cinque Ports sank near Malpelo Island months later. Selkirk spent four years and four months alone, learning to hunt and survive on what the island offered, until privateer Woodes Rogers picked him up in 1709. The castaway's tale spread quickly through England and became one of the reputed inspirations for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. He died at sea in 1721, a Royal Navy officer by then.
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