David Cordingly is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

naval historian with a special interest in

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. He held the position of Keeper of Pictures and Head of Exhibitions at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

Greenwich, England Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

for twelve years. David Cordingly organised several exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum, including ''Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, Navigator'' and ''The

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

''. One of these exhibitions was ''Pirates: Fact and Fiction'', which became a critical and popular success, followed by a book of the same title, authored by Cordingly and John Falconer. Cordingly explored the subject further in his book ''Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates''. This was followed by ''Heroines and Harlots: Women at Sea in the Great Age of Sail'' (published in the U.S. under the title ''Women Sailors and Sailors' Women: An Untold Maritime History''), expanding on a subject Cordingly had touched upon in ''Under the Black Flag'' in a chapter entitled "Women Pirates and Pirates' Women". In 2002, Cordingly wrote an introduction to the republication of

Captain Charles Johnson Captain Charles Johnson was the British author of the 1724 book ''A General History of the Pyrates, A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', whose identity remains a mystery. No record exists of a captain b ...

's 1724 book ''

A General History of the Pyrates ''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'' is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,

''. ''The Billy Ruffian: His Majesty's Ship Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon'', published in 2003, was longlisted for the 2003

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional works ...

. It tells the story of an English warship, HMS ''Bellerophon'', which played an important part in many battles and held captive the defeated

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

following the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. Cordingly appears on the '' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' DVD bonus features in a section called "Below Deck", a virtual tour of a pirate ship. This consists of several documentary shorts, hosted by Cordingly, comparing piracy fact and fiction along the same lines as ''Under the Black Flag''. Cordingly resides with his wife and family in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, Sussex.About the author
Davidcordingly.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.

Bibliography

*(with Falconer, John) ''Pirates: Fact & Fiction'' (Collins & Brown, 1992) *''Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates'' (Random House, 1996) *''Heroines and Harlots: Women at Sea in the Great Age of Sail'' (Macmillan, 2001) *''The Billy Ruffian: His Majesty's Ship Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon'' (Bloomsbury, 2003) * *''Spanish Gold: Captain Woodes Rogers & the Pirates of the Caribbean'' (Bloomsbury, 2011)

References

External links

David Cordingly bibliography on Library Thing
by David Templeton
David Cordingly's home site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordingly, David English naval historians People from Brighton Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people)