Profession: Mutineer
Biography: Christian was a master's mate aboard the HMS Bounty on its voyage to Tahiti under Lieutenant William Bligh, which set out in 1787.
In a famous mutiny, Christian seized command of the ship from Bligh on the April 28, 1789. While some of the mutineers remained in Tahiti, Christian and several others—along with some Tahitian men and women—settled on Pitcairn Island.
There him and the mutineers settled, and today most those of the Pitcairn and Norfolk islanders bearing his name are descendants of him and his Tahitian wife.
Born: September 25, 1764
Birthplace: Moorland Close, Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England, Great Britain
Star Sign: Libra
Cause of Death: John Adams, the last surviving mutineer claimed Christian was murdered during a conflict between the Tahitian men and the mutineers; meanwhile an admittedly unlikely story claimed that he left Pitcairn and returned to England.
Articles and Photos
William Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty
William Bligh, born on this day, became known as a sadistic sea captain who drove his men to the Mutiny on the Bounty. But was he in fact a victim of fiction?
September 9, 1754
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lieutenant William Bligh is set adrift by the mutineers aboard the HMS Bounty on April 28, 1789
April 28, 1789
Historical Events
- 1789-04-28 Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny on HMS Bounty against its captain William Bligh in the South Pacific
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