Sir Humphrey Gilbert - biographical facts

Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539?-1583) was an English navigator, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Dartmouth is his birthplace. He studied at Eton and Oxford, planning to study law, but abandoned the idea and entered the army. He was knighted for gallant service in Ireland in 1570, and served five years in the Netherlands. Becoming interested in the voyages across the Atlantic which were being carried on then, he published a pamphlet, A Discourse of a Discovery for a New Passage to Cathay. Cathay was the name then in use for China. In 1578 he and his young half-brother set out with seven ships to discover new lands for Queen Elizabeth. The history of the voyage is obscure; they returned the next year, having lost a ship and its men. Four years afterward he set sail again and reached Newfoundland, taking possession of it in the queen's name. On the way home his ship sank suddenly and all were drowned.