David Melgueiro

David Melgueiro (Porto, ? – Porto, 1673?) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer. According to some sources, he discovered the Northeast Passage in 1660, travelling between Japan and Portugal through the Arctic Ocean.^{[dubious – discuss]}

According to the story of a diplomat and French spy in Portugal, the Seigneur de La Madelène (or Madelleine), captain David Melgueiro, at the command of the Dutch ship Pai Eterno (Perpetual Father), left Kagoshima in Japan on March 14, 1660, sailed north and entered the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait (known at the time as Strait of Aniam). The expedition reached 84º N^{[dubious – discuss]} and upon sighting Svalbard^{[dubious – discuss]} headed south, towards Scotland and Ireland, and finally arrived at Porto, Portugal, about 1662. According to La Madelène, Melgueiro died in Porto in 1673.

If true, the voyage of Melgueiro would have preceded the 1878 feat of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld by more than two centuries.

See also

• Willem Barentsz
• Vitus Bering
• Northeast Passage