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Gavin Menzies (born 1937) is a retired British submarine commander and amateur historian best known as the author of the controversial book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, which asserts 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 as part of the era of Chinese exploration. This thesis has been discounted "as nonsense" by professional historians.

Menzies, who has no command of Chinese, was born in London, England. Early versions of his book erroneously said he was born in China but in actuality he moved to China when he was 3 weeks old. Menzies joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served in submarines from 1959 to 1970. Menzies claims he sailed the routes sailed by Ferdinand Magellan and Captain James Cook, while he was commander of the diesel submarine HMS Rorqual between 1968 and 1970, a contention questioned by some of his critics.

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 hole in USS Endurance but did not damage HMS Rorqual. The ensuing enquiry found Menzies and one of his subordinates responsible for a combination of factors that led to the accident, including the absence of the coxswain (who usually takes the helm in port) who had been replaced by a less experienced crew member, and technical issues with the boat's telegraph. After the incident, Menzies retired the following year, and stood against Enoch Powell as an independent candidate in Wolverhampton South West during the United Kingdom general election 1970.

Menzies currently resides in North London with his wife Marcella.

Books

• Menzies, Gavin (2002). 1421: The Year China Discovered the World. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 0593050789.
  • American edition: Menzies, Gavin (2003). 1421: The Year China Discovered America. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0060537639.
• Menzies, Gavin (2008). 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0061492175.

References

• Ptak, Roderich; Salmon, Claudine (2005), "Zheng He: Geschichte und Fiktion", in Ptak, Roderich; Höllmann, Thomas O. (eds.), Zheng He. Images & Perceptions, South China and Maritime Asia, vol. 15, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 9–35

Footnotes

1. The Navy List Spring 1969
2. Reuters UK. "Columbus debunker sets sights on Leonardo da Vinci." Tue Jul 29, 2008.
3. "The 1421 myth exposed". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
4. "Zheng He in the Americas and Other Unlikely Tales of Exploration and Discovery". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
5. "1421: The Year China Discovered the World by Gavin Menzies". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
6. Finlay, Robert (2004). "How Not to (Re)Write World History: Gavin Menzies and the Chinese Discovery of America". Journal of World History. 15 (2). {{cite journal}}: External link in |title= (help)
7. Ptak & Salmon 2005, p. 12
8. ^ "Interview with Gavin Menzies". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
9. "Interview with Gavin Menzies". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
10. "Challenges to Menzies' nautical experience". Retrieved 2007-03-22.; see particularly note five of the Appendix.
11. "Enquiry regarding the collision of the USS Endurance and Rorqual". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
12. Peter Evans (5 June 1970). "Immigrant girl will vote in despair—Powellism". News. The Times. No. 57888. London. col C, p. 9. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)

External links

• Gavin Menzies' website promoting 1434

Critics

• 1421 Exposed - Website set up by an international group of academics and researchers
• Finlay, Robert (2004). "How Not to (Re)Write World History: Gavin Menzies and the Chinese Discovery of America". Journal of World History 15 (2) - Scholarly review of Menzies
• Gavin's Fantasy Land, 1421
• A critical view of Menzies' story
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation's FOUR CORNERS Program Transcript of "Junk History"

Template:Persondata

• 1937 births
• Living people
• People from London
• Pseudohistory
• Royal Navy submarine commanders