Person

Humphrey Gilbert

c. 1539–1583 · 16th century · Also known as Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Gilbert

Sir Humphrey Gilbert was an English soldier and explorer of the Elizabethan era. In 1583 he made a formal claim to Newfoundland for the English crown, but was lost at sea on the return voyage and left no settlers. His claim is conventionally treated as the founding moment of the British Empire.

Humphrey Gilbert
Image: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

British EmpireFoundation

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Duchy of LotharingiaCounty Palatine of PembrokeKingdom of AbemamaGilbert and Ellice Islands

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Humphrey Gilbert. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/humphrey-gilbert
MLA
“Humphrey Gilbert.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/humphrey-gilbert. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Humphrey Gilbert.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/humphrey-gilbert.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Humphrey Gilbert’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/humphrey-gilbert (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻