Davis, John


Davis or Davys, John,

1550?–1605, English navigator. He made his first voyage in search of the Northwest PassageNorthwest Passage,
water routes through the Arctic Archipelago, N Canada, and along the northern coast of Alaska between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Even though the explorers of the 16th cent.
..... Click the link for more information.  in 1585, continuing the work of Martin FrobisherFrobisher, Sir Martin
, 1535?–1594, English mariner. He went to sea as a boy, and spent much of his youth in the African trade. He later gained the friendship of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, through whom he became interested in the Northwest Passage.
..... Click the link for more information. . On this voyage he discovered Cumberland Sound of Baffin Island and made explorations that prepared the way for his later voyages in 1586 and 1587. On the third exploration he sailed through Davis Strait into Baffin Bay and coasted down Baffin Island and across the east end of Hudson Strait. He clarified much of the confusion over the geography of that region. In 1591, Davis sailed S for the Straits of Magellan, and in 1592 he sighted the Falkland Islands. He later made voyages to the East Indies and was killed in a fight with Japanese pirates. A type of quadrant he invented was used for more than a century, and he wrote a manual, The Seaman's Secrets (1594).

Bibliography

See The Voyages and Works of John Davis, ed. by A. H. Markham (1880, repr. 1970); biography by Sir Clements Markham (1889, repr. 1970).

Davis, John

 

(Davys). Born circa 1550 in Sandridge; died Dec. 29, 1605, near Malacca. English seafarer.

Davis made three voyages (1585-87) to search for the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, but he did not succeed in finding a route. Davis discovered the strait west of Greenland which was named after him and explored the western coast of Greenland (up to 73° N lat.) and the eastern coast of Labrador. Davis commanded a ship in the expedition of the English corsair T. Cavendish in 1591-92, during which he discovered some of the Falkland Islands.