Random People Who Disappeared Mysteriously Before 1800 (14 items)

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  (#1) Henry Hudson

  Henry Hudson was a sea captain who made multiple attempts to discover the mythical Northwester Passage that would lead to Asia via the North American continent. In 1609, the Dutch East India Company hired Hudson to embark on yet another voyage. He reached the east coast of North America and sailed up the river that presently bears his name as far as Albany, New York. 

  Hudson attempted another voyage in 1610, taking a more northerly route that ultimately accessed Canada's present day Hudson's Bay. Unfortunately, Hudson's boat became trapped by ice and he and his crew were forced to spend a bitter winter on land, probably near the shores of present-day James Bay. 

  In the spring of 1611, the crew prepared to journey back to England, but decided to mutiny instead. Angry crewmembers cast Hudson, his son, and a few sick sailors into a small lifeboat and into the bay, never to be heard from again. 

   
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  (#7) Edward V of England

  • Dec. at 13 (1470-1483)

  It is not known exactly what happened to Edward V and his younger brother, the Duke of York. Most likely it was something unpleasant. Edward and his younger brother Richard were the only sons of King Edward IV, who passed on April 9, 1483.  The two boys were then placed under the guardianship of their uncle Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. 

  They were both quartered in the Tower of London. The Duke of Gloucester began machinations to have the boys declared illegitimate and he himself crowned king. This was ultimately decreed by an act of Parliament, and the Duke was crowned King Richard III.

  After the summer of 1483, the princes were never seen publicly again. Almost two hundred years later, a box containing two small skeletons was discovered, and Charles II ordered that they be buried at Westminster Abbey as the remains of the two princes.
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  (#11) Francisco de Hoces

  Francisco de Hoces was a member of the 1525 Garcia Jofre de Loaisa expedition to the Spice Islands of the East Indies. De Hoces commanded the ship the San Lesmes as part of this expedition. Bad weather scattered the entire expedition, and the San Lesmes was pushed close enough to possibly be the first European expedition to observe Cape Horn and the passage to the Pacific. Currently known as the Drake Passage, it was originally referred to by some Hispanic historians as the Mar de Hoces.

  On May 26, 1526, De Hoces was able to reunite with some of the Loaisa's ships and enter the Pacific. By June 1, bad weather scattered the flotilla again. The San Lesmes disappeared entirely and, with it, Hoces and his men.
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  (#12) Thomas Lynch, Jr.

  • Dec. at 30 (1749-1779)

  By 1779, Thomas Lynch, Jr., had accomplished a great deal. Born in South Carolina in 1749,  he graduated with honors from Cambridge and studied law in London, returning home a few years before the American Revolution. Commissioned a Company Commander in the South Carolina Regiment, he resigned when he was elected to the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. Lynch's health went into a steep decline after this momentous event and, at the end of 1776, in an attempt to recover, he and his wife sailed to the West Indies. Unfortunately, bad weather met their ship mid-voyage, and neither Lynch nor his wife was ever seen again. 
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  (#3) David Thomson, The Founder Of New Hampshire, Vanished From History

  They say timing is everything. In 1622, David Thomson received a land grant from the New England Council. His family would the be the first non-natives to establish themselves in the territory. Thomson built a settlement called Pannaway and traded successfully with the local Piscataqua natives. He also fished extensively in the waters surrounding his settlement, and he and his wife spent three winters as the first white settlers of the territory.

  Then, in 1626, Thomson suddenly left Pannaway and moved to an island in Boston Harbor. He established himself to the extent that today this island is still known as Thomson Island. What happened to him subsequently is unknown, but it is believed that he died in 1627 or 1628. 
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  (#9) Henry Every

  Henry Avery took charge of a crew at La Coruna, Spain, and began his career as a pirate in 1694. His ship, the former privateer Charles II, became the pirate vessel The Fancy and headed to the Indian Ocean. The Fancy plundered Mecca-bound, Indian-based ships in the Arabian Sea, leading to a giant bounty on Avery's head after an astonishing haul of wealth that threatened English-East Indian relations. Rape and murder also precipitated what became the world's first global manhunt.

  Avery and The Fancy were able to escape to the Bahamas, where they anchored and then began negotiating with Sir Nicholas Trott, the governor of the islands. With a French invasion imminent, Trott was intrigued by Avery's offer to help defend the colony - promises of additional massive bribes must have been persuasive, as well. 

  But then, Henry Avery disappeared. Legend has it that he sold his loot and jewels in the Bahamas and returned to England, where he eventually died penniless. His exploits undoubtedly electrified a generation of sailors who went over to the dark side of piracy.

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