English Literature, 1500 to 1799: Biographies

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Selkirk, Alexander

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Selkirk, Alexander (1676–1721), joined the privateering expedition of Dampier in 1703. Having quarrelled with his captain, Thomas Stradling, he was at his own request put ashore on one of the uninhabited Pacific island of Juan Fernandez in 1704, and remained there until 1709 when he was rescued by W. Rogers. Steele published an account of his experience in The Englishman (3 Dec. 1713); Defoe used the story in Robinson Crusoe and Cowper in his poem, ‘I am monarch of all I survey’.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Selkirk, Alexander." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Selkirk, Alexander." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-SelkirkAlexander.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Selkirk, Alexander." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-SelkirkAlexander.html

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Alexander Selkirk

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Alexander Selkirk , 1676–1721, Scottish sailor whose adventures suggested to Daniel Defoe the story of Robinson Crusoe (1719). In 1704, as a sailing master, Selkirk quarreled with the captain of his ship in the Juan Fernández islands and asked to be put ashore. He remained on Más a Tierra Island for four years and four months before he was rescued (Feb., 1709) by an English privateer.

Bibliography: See J. Howell, The Life and Adventures of Alexander Selkirk (1829).

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"Alexander Selkirk." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Alexander Selkirk." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-SelkirkA.html

"Alexander Selkirk." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-SelkirkA.html

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maroon, to

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

maroon, to, to put ashore a sailor and leave him there. The action implies being left in some relatively inaccessible place. The best-known case of a marooned seaman was Alexander Selkirk, on whom Daniel Defoe based his character Robinson Crusoe.

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"maroon, to." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"maroon, to." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-maroonto.html

"maroon, to." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-maroonto.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	The real Robinson Crusoe: Alexander Selkirk was marooned for 52 months in the... Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor; 2/21/2002
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