DAVIES John (Davis John)

(ca. 1550-1605)
Born in Sandridzhe (county of Devon). In 1585-1587 participated in three major maritime expeditions in the Arctic, engaged in finding the Northwest Passage. Finding Strait (later named after him), got in Baffin Bay and sailed north. Moving along the west coast of Greenland, has reached the point where now is Upernavik, and walked along the American coast from Cape Dyer on Baffin Island to the southern coast of Labrador. Tried to find the Northwest Passage and in 1586 and 1587. Opened the strait (later named after him), entered Baffin Bay. In 1591, an expedition of Cavendish, heading for the Strait of Magellan, discovered the Falkland Islands (1592). Davis invented the double quadrant for astronomical observations. Published a manual on practical navigation Secrets sailor (The Seaman's Secrets, 1594) and hydrographic description of the world (The World's Hydrographical Description, 1595). In 1597 the captain of a ship sailed in the expedition of the Duke of Essex in the Azores. Davis was killed by Japanese pirates at the Island of Bintan near modern Singapore on Dec. 29, 1605.