The name Martin Frobisher is, to all but the most hardcore of historians, rarely remembered among the name of the great British explorers of the 1500’s. And, if mentioned at all, it’s usually not in conjunction with his several successful trading voyages or even his sketchy foray into piracy. No, Martin Frobisher is usually only associated with one name and one name only:

Fool.

Frobisher had grand ambitions, the biggest of which was his desire to discover a Northwest passage into Asia, thus finally busting open the lucrative trade market with China. “It is still the only thing left undone whereby a notable mind might be made famous and remarkable,” he is quoted as saying. Frobisher vowed “rather to make a sacrifice onto God of his lyfe than to return home withowt the discovery of [China] except by compulsion of extreme force and necessity.”

His first attempt, which left England in May 1575, returned four months later, after having sighted Greenland and reaching what is now known as Frobisher Bay in Baffin Island. It had, however, done comparatively little towards finding the sought-after passage to Asia. It did, however, generate the excitement and interest Frobisher had hoped for, due in a large part to the captured Eskimo he paraded around the country like a circus animal. (The Eskimo died from disease not long after).

Buoyed by this, Frobisher made a second voyage. This time, however, they found the Greenland coast so wrapped in mist that landing was impossible. Eventually, the fleet anchored in Hall Island. With the way forward blocked, the men decided to use the time exploring the land instead and, to Frobisher’s surprise, found it ripe with what appeared to be gold-bearing ore. The men collected about 200 tons of it before returning to England, hoping to beat the winter storms.

The Queen was elated, the public fascinated. Here, finally, was England’s own gold discovery! The government quickly put together funding for Frobisher to make a third voyage, which set sail on May 31, 1578. This time, however, the quest for the Northwest Passage was long-since forgotten. This trip was for gold. Though besieged by storms, Frobisher and his crew again managed to mine the ore and return to England with 1,340 tons of it, expecting an even bigger hero’s welcome.

They didn’t get one.

Unbeknownst to Frobisher, while he had been away, his original batch of ore had been sent to the best gold refiners in the country. All of them found that they were unable to smelt down the metal. The reason? It wasn’t gold at all.

It was iron pyrites.

What we now know as fool’s gold.

Yep, that’s right. Martin Frobisher was the original fool.

Instead of increasing the country’s wealth, Frobisher’s ore was used only to pave its streets.

The company which had been formed to finance the expedition refused to pay Frobisher his salary, and he lived in dismal poverty for a number of years, until Queen Elizabeth restored him to favor by making him a vice-admiral to Drake. The fact that he was eventually knighted for his gallantry while fighting the Spanish Armada must have no doubt consoled him a bit.

But it didn’t change his legacy.

Or his namesake.