(William), a famous navigator, descended from a good family in Somersetshire in England, was born in 1653. Losing his father when very young, he was sent to the sea, where he soon distinguished himself, particularly in the South Sea. His voyage round the world is well known, and has gone through many editions. He appears afterward to have engaged in the Bristol expedition with Captain Woods Rogers; who sailed in August 1708, and returned in September 1711; but we have no farther particulars of his life or death.