Francis Drake in connection with Elizabeth I or other figures of that era, including Mount Sir Francis Drake, Mount Queen Bess, and the Golden Hinde, the highest mountain on Vancouver Island. Drake's will was the focus of a vast confidence scheme which Oscar Hartzell perpetrated in the 1920s and 1930s. He convinced thousands of people, mostly in the American Midwest, that Drake's fortune was being held by the British government, and had compounded to a huge amount. If their last name was Drake they might be eligible for a share if they paid Hartzell to be their agent. The swindle continued until
Francis M. Drake Francis M. Drake Francis Marion Drake (December 30, 1830 – November 20, 1903) was an American merchant, lawyer, banker and politician. He fought in the American Civil War and later became the 16th Governor of Iowa. He is the namesake of Drake University. Drake was born in Rushville, Illinois, the son of John Adams Drake and Harriet Jane O'Neal. He later moved to Centerville, Iowa. He got a good business education, and became a merchant. He married Mary Jane Lord on December 24, 1855. They had seven children. During the California Gold Rush, he led two expeditions across the plains