Biographical entry Dampier, William (1651 - 1715)

Summary

William Dampier commanded an expedition to the South Pacific which discovered the Dampier Archipelago and the Dampier Strait.

Details

Fought in the Anglo-Dutch War in 1672-3. Became planter in the West Indies and a buccaneer against the Spanish Caribbean colonies (1679-81). Wrote a valuable hydrographic treatise. Commanded an expedition to the South Pacific which discovered the Dampier Archipelago and the Dampier Strait. He also named the island of New Britain.

Published resources

Books

• Dampier, William, A New Voyage Round the World: the Journal of an English Buccaneer, Hummingbird Press, London, 1998, 284 pp. Details
• George, Alex S., William Dampier in New Holland: Australia's First Natural Historian, Blooming Books, Hawthorn, Victoria, 1999, 191 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Bach, J., 'Dampier, William (1651-1715)', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 277-278. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010265b.htm. Details
• Baer, Joel H., 'William Dampier, 1651-1715', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. Details

Conference Papers

• Williams, Gary C., 'William Dampier: Pre-Linnean Explorer, Naturalist, Buccaneer', in Michael T. Ghiselin and Alan E. Leviton (eds), Impact of Travels on Scientific Knowledge, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, 2004, pp. 146-166. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Dampier, William', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1228973. Details