Alexander Selkirk (or Selcraig, 1676-1721) was a Scotsman famously marooned for four years and four months on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean until his rescue by a passing British ship in February 1709. His story inspired the title character of the acclaimed 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (c. 1660-1731).
Selkirk was on a privateering expedition in the Pacific when he was marooned on the remote Juan Fernández Islands. He might have suffered over four years of solitude but he fared better than his shipmates who were subsequently shipwrecked and taken to a Spanish prison. Selkirk’s fortunes improved remarkably following the capture of a Spanish treasure ship by the expedition that had rescued him. Living well off his share of the booty in England, Selkirk became an officer in the Royal Navy before dying at sea in 1721.
Alexander Selkirk, sometimes given as Selcraig, was born in Scotland in 1676. He was the son of a shoemaker and had six brothers. His first appearance in the historical records is that he was found guilty of indecent behaviour, of all places, in church. He then went to sea and became officer material thanks to his skill in mathematics and using navigational instruments. In 1703, he joined the fateful privateering expedition of William Dampier (c. 1651-1715), destined for adventure in the Pacific Ocean.