- Born: c. 1676
- Died: 12 December 1721
- Birthplace: Lower Largo, Scotland
- Best known as:
The model for Robinson Crusoe
4 good links
- Lost in the Myth
Information-jammed review of a 2009 book on Selkirk
- Trapped on a Pacific Island
Nifty 2009 report from Spiegel Online
- The Real Robinson Crusoe
Brief history of Selkirk and his island
- Evidence of Selkirk's Campsite
Science Daily's account of 2008 news from an archaeological dig
Alexander Selkirk Biography
A true-life castaway, Scotsman Alexander Selkirk was the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. While sailing with English privateers in 1704, Selkirk quarrelled with his captain and asked to be put ashore on an uninhabited island off of South America. He took with him a musket, a hatchet, and a few utensils. There he survived alone for four years and four months before being rescued by another English ship. He sailed for two years before returning home, where his story made him a celebrity.
Extra credit:
The island where Selkirk left his ship is now called Robinson Crusoe Island; it was formerly known as Más a Tierra or Aguas Buenas.
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