EXPLORER

Matthew Flinders

1774 - 1814

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Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to utilise the name Australia to describe the entirety of that continent including Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), a title he regarded as being "more agreeable to the ear" than previous names such as Terra Australis. Flinders was involved in several voyages of discovery between 1791 and 1803, the most famous of which are the circumnavigation of Australia and an earlier expedition when he and George Bass confirmed that Van Diemen's Land was an island. While returning to Britain in 1803, Flinders was arrested by the French at the colony of Isle de France. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Matthew Flinders is the 185th most popular explorer (up from 195th in 2019), the 1,725th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,612th in 2019) and the 26th most popular British Explorer.

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Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, Matthew Flinders ranks 185 out of 498. Before him are Lancelotto Malocello, Edward Wilson, Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney, Sophie Blanchard, Niccolò de' Conti, and Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn. After him are John Marshall, Hanno the Navigator, James Bruce, Annie Londonderry, Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, and Alexander Mackenzie.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1774, Matthew Flinders ranks 19. Before him are William Henry, Christian Leopold von Buch, Charles Bell, Salomon Mayer von Rothschild, Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, and André Marie Constant Duméril. After him are Robert Southey, Francis Baily, Lord William Bentinck, Václav Tomášek, Pierre Rode, and Karl Mollweide. Among people deceased in 1814, Matthew Flinders ranks 16. Before him are Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne, Arthur Phillip, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and Guillaume-Antoine Olivier. After him are Elbridge Gerry, Aleijadinho, William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, Georg Joseph Vogler, and Louis François Joseph, Prince of Conti.

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Others Deceased in 1814

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Matthew Flinders ranks 1,725 out of 8,785. Before him are John Newton (1725), Christine McVie (1943), Harriet Martineau (1802), Edward Gordon Craig (1872), Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770), and Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721). After him are John Charles (1931), Steven Gerrard (1980), Elizabeth Blount (1500), James Murray (1837), Paul Radmilovic (1886), and Jimmy Greaves (1940).

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Among EXPLORERS In United Kingdom

Among explorers born in United Kingdom, Matthew Flinders ranks 26. Before him are Ranulph Fiennes (1944), Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet (1764), Samuel Wallis (1728), Isabella Bird (1831), Martin Frobisher (1535), and Edward Wilson (1872). After him are John Marshall (1748), James Bruce (1730), Alexander Mackenzie (1764), Douglas Mawson (1882), John Rolfe (1585), and Mark Sykes (1879).

British born Explorers

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