EXPLORER

William Adams

1564 - 1620

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William Adams (Japanese: ウィリアム・アダムス, Hepburn: Wiriamu Adamusu; 24 September 1564 – 16 May 1620), better known in Japan as Miura Anjin (三浦按針; 'the pilot of Miura'), was an English navigator who, in 1600, became the first Englishman to reach Japan. He was later granted samurai status, and was recognised as one of the most influential foreigners in Japan during the early 17th century. He arrived in Japan as one of the few survivors of the ship Liefde under the leadership of Jacob Quaeckernaeck. It was the only vessel to reach Japan from a five-ship expedition launched by a company of Rotterdam merchants (a voorcompagnie, or predecessor, of the Dutch East India Company). Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William Adams is the 30th most popular explorer (up from 54th in 2019), the 273rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 459th in 2019) and the 5th most popular British Explorer.

William Adams, also known as Miura Anjin, was a navigator and explorer who helped the Tokugawa shogunate establish trade with the Western world. He is most famous for his role in the opening of Japan to the Western world.

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Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, William Adams ranks 30 out of 498. Before him are Willem Barentsz, Jacques Cousteau, Juan Sebastián Elcano, David Livingstone, Thor Heyerdahl, and Thorfinn Karlsefni. After him are Jan van Riebeeck, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, John Davis, John Cabot, Evliya Çelebi, and Giovanni da Pian del Carpine.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1564, William Adams ranks 3. Before him are Galileo Galilei, and William Shakespeare. After him are Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Christopher Marlowe, Paulo Miki, David Fabricius, Francisco Pacheco, Hans Leo Hassler, Ahmad Sirhindi, Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Federico Borromeo. Among people deceased in 1620, William Adams ranks 1. After him are Wanli Emperor, Mahfiruz Hatun, Simon Stevin, Taichang Emperor, Stanisław Żółkiewski, Louise de Coligny, Carlo Saraceni, William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Jan Sarkander, Archduchess Eleanor of Austria, and Thomas Campion.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William Adams ranks 273 out of 8,785. Before him are Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843), Helen Mirren (1945), Æthelberht, King of Wessex (836), Mary Anne MacLeod Trump (1912), William Henry Bragg (1862), and Jane Birkin (1946). After him are Robert the Bruce (1274), Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (1477), Rodney Robert Porter (1917), Owain Glyndŵr (1359), Gladwyn Jebb (1900), and John Venn (1834).

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Among EXPLORERS In United Kingdom

Among explorers born in United Kingdom, William Adams ranks 5. Before him are James Cook (1728), Francis Drake (1540), Robert Falcon Scott (1868), and David Livingstone (1813). After him are John Davis (1550), Henry Morton Stanley (1841), William Baffin (1584), Henry Hudson (1570), John Ross (1777), William Dampier (1651), and John Smith (1580).

British born Explorers

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