John Gow

John Gow (c. 1698–11 June 1725) was a notorious pirate whose short career was immortalised by Charles Johnson in A General History of the Pyrates. Little is known of his life, except from an account by Daniel Defoe, which is often considered unreliable, the report on his execution, and an account by Mr. Alan Fea, descendant of his captor, published in 1912, almost two centuries after his death.

Early life

Gow was probably born in Wick, Caithness, to William Gow, a merchant, and Margaret Calder. He was raised in Stromness, Orkney where he went to school and learned to sail a ship.

Pirate

Prior to August 1724 he crewed a voyage from London to Lisbon and back, during which he plotted to seize control of the vessel. He failed to attract sufficient numbers, however, and the effort went nowhere. In London, word spread about the attempt, so Gow fled to Amsterdam, where he joined the Santa Cruz-bound Caroline as second mate.

After several months' layover in Santa Cruz, on 3 November 1724 the Caroline departed for Genoa, Italy, with a cargo of beeswax, leather, and woolens. The shipboard climate, however, was troubled. There were complaints about the food on board the ship, and Freneau, the captain of the Caroline, was accused of treating the other crewmen of the vessel improperly. Grousing of short allowance, the crewmen of the Caroline started to disobey some of the captain's orders. The captain, realising that his orders were being disobeyed, consulted his mate. The two men agreed to stash some small arms in the cabin so they could defend themselves in case of mutiny. Unfortunately for the captain, two of the conspirators on the upper deck overheard the conversation.

John Gow (footballer, born 1869)

John R. Gow (born 17 April 1869) was a Scottish footballer who played as a winger

Career

Born in Blair Atholl, Gow played club football for Rangers, and made one appearance for Scotland in 1888. He became club president of Rangers in 1896.

Personal life

His brother Donald was also a Scottish international player.

References

John Gow (disambiguation)

John Gow (1698–1725) was a Scottish pirate.

John may also refer to:

John Gow (footballer, born 1859)

John J. Gow (born 4 October 1859) was a Scottish footballer who played as a defender.

Career

Born in Glasgow, Gow played club football for Queen's Park, and made one appearance for Scotland in 1885.

References