Illustration depicting Sir Francis Drake kneeling before Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 - 28 January 1596), was an English sea captain, privateer, slave trader, pirate, naval officer and explorer of the Elizabethan era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580, and was the first to complete the voyage as captain while leading the expedition throughout the entire circumnavigation.