Who was Davy Jones?

Question

The real one, not the Pirates version.

Answer 1

Davy Jones' Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea — the resting place of drowned seamen. It is used as a euphemism for death at sea (e.g. to be "sent to Davy Jones' Locker"); Davy Jones is a nickname (used primarily by sailors) for what would be the devil of the seas.

Origin
The earliest known reference to Davy Jones occurs in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett, published in 1751:

This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on the eve of hurricanes, ship-wrecks, and other disasters to which sea-faring life is exposed, warning the devoted wretch of death and woe. [1]
He is described as having saucer eyes, three rows of teeth, horns, a tail, and blue smoke coming from his nostrils.

The term appears to have been common among sailors, as the name Davy Jones appears often in popular nautical literature.

As is common with slang, the exact origin of "Davy Jones" is hard to discover. These explanations have been proposed: [2] [3]

A pub owner named David Jones who used to incapacitate helpless drinkers in his ale locker, and send them off aboard ships.
Duffer Jones, a notoriously myopic sailor who often found himself overboard.
Davy comes from Duffy, a West Indian term for ghost, or from Saint David, also known as Dewi, the patron saint of Wales, while Jones comes from the prophet Jonah.
A euphemism for a "Devil Jonah"; Jonah being a term referring to any bad luck on the ocean.
David Jones, a pirate on the Indian Ocean in the 1630s. - Jan Rogoziński, The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pirates, Ware, Hertfordshire, 1997
Only the first theory explains the locker. The name may have originated in Wales, where David Jones is a common name.

Answer 2

Davy Jones of the Monkees? Short English Singer from the 1960's.

Davy Jones of "Davey Jones' Locker" Some English sailor who fell overboard a long time ago or an evil spirit at the bototm of the ocean.

Answer 3

to explain the locker part. other folks have covered the davy jones part pretty well already.

when burried at sea, the common sailor was often sewn into either his hammock or his duffle bag with some cannon balls or weights and sent overboard. while his mates divied up the remainder of his possessions. Sometimes the weights would tear through and the body would resurface or the body would get dredged up in a fishing net. this would put a ghostly Jonah onboard a ship until a proper landside funeral was said for the spirit.

The captain often had a real bed to sleep in aboard ship
and a large metal locker (iron chest) in which to stow his gear.
when as it happened the captain died he was sent to the sea in the locker. For no one wanted that devil's ghost to come back and reclaim the ship. (a resurfaced captain's body was the very worst sort of jonah)
What went down in the locker never came back up.
Davey Jone's locker kept what it took.

Answer 4

One legend suggests that a particularly fiendish pub owner named David Jones used to incapacitate hapless drinkers in his ale locker, and send them off aboard ships. Sounds like a handy way of disposing of your enemies.

Brewer¿s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable offers an interesting linguistic take on the issue: Davy is a bastardization of Duffy, the West Indian term for ghost. Jones comes from Jonah, the prophet who spent a few uncomfortable days lodged in the GI tract of a whale. And a locker, loosely defined, is a place to store valuable things. So the phrase "He's gone to Davy Jones' locker" (i.e., he cashed it in) loosely translates as "He's safe with Duffy Jonah now."

A random Navy Trivia page we stumbled across has some entertaining guesses: Duffer Jones was a notoriously myopic sailor who often found himself overboard. Davy could also come from the horned one himself, the Devil. The shortest sailor on board usually impersonates him during the the Crossing of the Line, a bizarre naval cross-dressing ceremony. The less said, the better.

Answer 5

In English sailor lore, an evil spirit of the sea who claims the souls of drowned seafarers. A shadowy figure apparently of 18th century origin, he may have had his roots in the West Idian "Duppy", or else in biblical Jonah. Another Tradition identifies Davy Jones as a historical pirate. Sailors still talk of "davy Jone's loker"(meaning under the sea)in which drowned seafarers spend eternity.

Answer 6

Davy Jones' Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea — the resting place of drowned seamen. It is used as a euphemism for death at sea (e.g. to be "sent to Davy Jones' Locker"); Davy Jones is a nickname (used primarily by sailors) for what would be the devil of the seas.

Answer 7

Casey Jones is the train legend, Davey Jones worked for foot locker and sang for Thar monkey's and David bowie. Chuck Jones drew cartoons. Tom Jones is rumored to have a large Mr. Jones and too Jones is to need a fix not from jonesy from police academy and this leads us to Kevin bacon it must be his brother

Answer 8

Which one?
the ball player
actor
pirate
race car driver

Answer 9

the singer david bowie he changed his name from davy jones.or that bloke with his locamotive davy jones and his locomotive.

Answer 10

the pirates version would be cooler. at least i think so.