What was Captain Blackbeard's real name?

Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, c. 1680 – 22 November 1718), better known as "Blackbeard", was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before he settled on the Bahamian island of New Providence, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured and the two engaged in numerous acts of piracy.

Teach captured a French slave ship known as "La Concorde" renamed her "Queen Anne's Revenge", equipped her with 40 guns and crewed her with over 300 men. He became a renowned pirate. His nickname derived from his thick black beard and fearsome appearance. He formed an alliance of pirates and blockaded the port of Charles Town, South Carolina, ransoming the port's inhabitants. He then ran Queen Anne's Revenge aground on a sandbar near Beaufort, North Carolina. He parted company with Bonnet and settled in Bath, North Carolina, also known as Bath Town, where he accepted a royal pardon. However, he was soon back at sea, where he attracted the attention of Alexander Spotswood, the Governor of Virginia. Spotswood arranged for a party of soldiers and sailors to capture the pirate, on 22 November 1718, Teach and several of his crew were killed by a small force of sailors led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard.