Gavin Menzies
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Image:Gavin menzies-1-.jpg Gavin Menzies (b. 1937) is a retired submarine commander and the author of the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered America which asserted that ships from the Chinese fleet of admiral Zheng He travelled to the Americas prior to Christopher Columbus' arrival in 1492 and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan
Menzies joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served in submarines from 1959 to 1970. When he was the commander of the submarine HMS Rorqual (1968-1970), he sailed the routes sailed by Ferdinand Magellan and Captain James Cook. He now resides in North London with his wife, Marcella, and two daughters.
In 1996 Gavin Menzies, under his full name of Rowan Gavin Paton Menzies, was declared a vexatious litigant by HM Courts Service[[1]]. Menzies had been declared bankrupt following losses in an investment, and sought to launch a variety of criminal proceedings against the allegedly delinquent directors. Some scholars are reluctant to criticise the 1421 hypothesis because of Menzies' litigious behaviour[[2]].
Further reading
- Menzies, Gavin (2003). 1421: The Year China Discovered America. Morrow/Avon, hardcover, 576 pages. ISBN 0060537639.
See also
External links
- Official Web site of the book
- John Noble Wilford, "'1421': Pacific Overtures" (registration required), New York Times - Review of 1421 by a science correspondent.
- Menzies' page on the 1421 website
Critical Links