Gavin Menzies

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 Ferdinand Magellan. Image File history File links Gavin_menzies-1-.jpg Summary This is the picture of Gavin Menzies, a retired submarine commander and author of the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered America. ... Image File history File links Gavin_menzies-1-.jpg Summary This is the picture of Gavin Menzies, a retired submarine commander and author of the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered America. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. ... Zheng He wearing formal official dress Zheng He (Traditional Chinese: 鄭和; Simplified Chinese: 郑和; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng Ho; Birth name: 馬三寶 / 马三宝; pinyin: Mǎ Sānbǎo; Arabic name: Hajji Mahmud) (1371–1433), is the most well-known Chinese mariner and explorer and fleet Admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to... World map showing the Americas America or the Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Christopher Columbus (c. ... 1492 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães, IPA pronunciation: //; Spanish: Fernando or Hernando de Magallanes; Spring 1480–April 27, 1521[1]) was a Portuguese maritime explorer who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. ...

Menzies joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served in submarines from 1959 to 1970. When he was the commander of the diesel submarine HMS Rorqual (1968-1970), Menzies claims he sailed the routes sailed by Ferdinand Magellan and Captain James Cook. In 1969 in the Philippines, HMS Rorqual rammed a U.S. Navy minesweeper, the USS Endurance which was moored at a pier. This collision punched a large hole in USS Endurance but did not damage HMS Rorqual. Menzies and one of his subordinates were found responsible in the ensuing enquiry. Some critics have questioned Menzies' nautical knowledge and whether he has actually sailed the routes he has claimed, particularly while commanding HMS "Rorqual". The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The Porpoise class was an eight-boat class of diesel-electric submarines of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Rorqual (S02) was a Porpoise-class submarine launched in 1956. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães, IPA pronunciation: //; Spanish: Fernando or Hernando de Magallanes; Spring 1480–April 27, 1521[1]) was a Portuguese maritime explorer who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. ... James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... USS Pivot (AM 276) World War II United States Admirable Class Minesweeper shown in the Gulf of Mexico on sea trials 12 July 1944 Image:Hameln Class. ...

Menzies now resides in North London with his wife, Marcella, and two daughters. London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ...

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]. This recently uncovered Chinese map, made in 1763 and claimed by its creator to be based on a 1418 Chinese map, suggests that medieval China had extensive knowledge of the Americas and Antarctica - The Economist, January 12, 2006 The 1421 hypothesis of Chinese contact with the Americas originates from former...

Further reading

• Menzies, Gavin (2003). 1421: The Year China Discovered America. Morrow/Avon, hardcover, 576 pages. ISBN 0-06-053763-9.
• Menzies, Gavin (2002). 1421, The Year China Discovered the World. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 0-593-05158-0.

See also

• 1421 hypothesis
• 1421: The Year China Discovered America
• Newport Tower (Rhode Island)

This recently uncovered Chinese map, made in 1763 and claimed by its creator to be based on a 1418 Chinese map, suggests that medieval China had extensive knowledge of the Americas and Antarctica - The Economist, January 12, 2006 The 1421 hypothesis of Chinese contact with the Americas originates from former... The Newport Tower The Newport Tower(Old Stone Mill) is a round stone tower located in Touro Park in Newport, Rhode Island. ...

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
• The 1421 Heresy

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Critics

• Gavin's Fantasy Land, 1421
• Critical scholarly review of Menzies
• The '1421' myth exposed
• A critical view of Menzies' story
• Another critical view by Manuel Luciano da Silva, MD
• USS Endurance's web site with photographs and official documents relating to its ramming by HMS Rorqual
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation's FOUR CORNERS Program Transcript of "Junk History"