Author: Leondert Hussenlosch
Alternate names: Leendert Hasenbosch
Born: c. 1695
Died: c. 1724
Bio: A Dutch employee of the Dutch East India Company who was marooned on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, as a punishment for sodomy. He wrote a diary until his presumed death.

In January 1725, British sailors from the ship James and Mary discovered the castaway's tent and belongings, including the diary in Dutch. The British concluded that a Dutchman had been set ashore as a punishment for sodomy. They did not find a skeleton but they believed that the man had died of thirst. The diary was taken back to Britain.

In 1726, the translated diary was first published under the title Sodomy Punish'd. In 1728 another version, entitled An Authentick Relation, was published. The version of 1726 mentions the name of the castaway, misspelled as "Leondert Hussenlosch" but the version of 1728 states that the man's name is unknown. The qualities of both translations are uncertain since the original diary has been lost. Apart from entries about desperate searches for water and firewood, a few entries mention the man's act of sodomy. A few entries can be interpreted as reflections of a guilty conscience, including the apparitions of demons and former friends and acquaintances. In 1730 another version was published under the title The Just Vengeance of Heaven Exemplify'd. This version contains many extra anti-sodomy passages as well as many extra demons harassing the castaway. The publisher also wrote that the castaway's skeleton would have been found alongside the diary – which never happened.

-excerpted from Wikipedia