What is William Dampier?
{{Infobox person | name = William Dampier | image = Dampier-portrait.jpg | alt = Oil on canvas portrait of Dampier holding a book | caption = Portrait of Dampier holding his book, a painting by&nbsp;[[Thomas Murray (artist)|Thomas Murray]] (c.&nbsp;1697–1698) | birth_date = Baptised {{nowrap|5 September 1651}} | birth_place = [[East Coker]], [[Somerset]], England | death_date = March 1715 (aged 64) | death_place = [[London]], England | nationality = British | known_for = Exploring and mapping Australia, [[Circumnavigation]] | occupation = Privateer and explorer }} '''William Dampier''' (baptised 5 September 1651;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58702944 |title=Out of the Library |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times]] |location=Perth, W.A. |date=3 September 1933 |access-date=7 February 2012 |page=17, Sect. A |publisher=National Library of Australia}} </ref> died March 1715) was the first Englishman to explore parts of [[Australia]]. He was the first person to [[Circumnavigation|circumnavigate]] the world three times. On one voyage he rescued [[Alexander Selkirk]], a sailor who may have inspired [[Daniel Defoe]]'s ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]''. ==References== {{reflist}} {{bio-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dampier, William}} [[Category:1651 births]] [[Category:1715 deaths]] [[Category:English explorers]] [[Category:People from Somerset]] [[Category:Privateers]]