To Americans and the French, a billion means a thousand millions (1,000,000,000, or 10 to the ninth, what some British call a milliard, a term that seems never to have been widely accepted).
According to Anglo history, Sir Francis Drake died of dysentery on January 27, 1596, aged 55 while anchored off the coast of Puerto Bello, Panama after an unsuccessful campaig â¦ n against the Spanish. He was buried at sea in a lead coffin, near Puerto Bello.
Sir Francis Drake. 1  Occupation: Explorer, privateer. 2  Born: 1540 or 1544 in Tavistock, England. 3  Died: January 27, 1596 in Portobelo, Panama. 4  Best known for: First Englishman to sail around the world and defeating the Spanish Armada.