(c. 1545-1596) English buccaneer and explorer. Having enriched himself as a pirate against Spanish interests in the Caribbean 1567–72, he was sponsored by Elizabeth I for an expedition to the Pacific, sailing round the world 1577–80 in the Golden Hind, robbing Spanish ships as he went. This was the second circumnavigation of the globe (the first was by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan). Drake also helped to defeat the Spanish Armada 1588 as a vice admiral in the Revenge.
Drake suggested to Queen Elizabeth I an expedition to the Pacific, and it was granted; in Dec 1577 he sailed in the Pelican with four other ships and 166 men toward South America. In Aug 1578 the fleet passed through the Straits of Magellan and was then blown south to Cape Horn. The ships became separated and returned to England, all but the Pelican, now renamed the Golden Hind. Drake sailed north along the coast of Chile and Peru, robbing Spanish ships as far north as California, and then, in July 1579, traveled southwest across the Pacific. He rounded the South African Cape June 1580, and reached England Sept 1580, thus completing the second voyage around the world. When the Spanish ambassador demanded Drake’s punishment, the Queen knighted him on the deck of the Golden Hind in London. In a raid on Cádiz 1587 he burned 10,000 tons of shipping and delayed the Spanish Armada for a year. Drake sailed on his last expedition to the West Indies 1595, and in Jan 1596 died on his ship.

Adult male of a wild or domestic duck.

City in North Dakota (USA); zip code 58736.