Selkirk, Alexander

Alexander (1673-1723), a Scottish sailor. He gained some reputation as the commander of buccaneering ships. He was neither more nor less than a pirate engaged in preying on the ships of foreign nations. In 1704, owing to a dispute, he was put ashore at his own request on the island of Juan Fernandez and remained there alone for four years. He is popularly believed to be the original of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. His Life and Adventures were published in 1829. He is the subject, also, of the poet Cowper's well known lines beginning:

Selkirk's sea chest and cup are preserved in the Edinburgh Museum of Antiquities. In 1903 his old gun, a flint-lock fowling-piece, was placed in the British Museum. The stock bears his name carved in rude letters, and the date, 1701. See Defoe