Great Explorers
21 entries in the Great Explorers compendium.
Christopher ColumbusItalian explorer who opened the Americas to European colonization.Ferdinand MagellanPortuguese explorer who planned and led the first circumnavigation of Earth.Marco PoloVenetian merchant whose travels opened the East to European understanding.Vasco da GamaThe Portuguese explorer who opened the sea route to IndiaJames CookBritish Royal Navy officer who mapped much of the Pacific and Southern Oceans.Ernest ShackletonAnglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions and set a Farthest South record of 88°23′ S.Roald AmundsenNorwegian polar explorer who reached both the South and North Poles.Robert Falcon ScottBritish naval officer and Antarctic explorer who reached the South Pole.The Lewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition sought a direct water route across North America for commerce, with scientific…Zheng HeChinese admiral who led seven voyages across the Indian Ocean.Ibn BattutaThe greatest traveller of the pre-modern world, whose journeys spanned Africa, Asia, and the Iberian…Leif EriksonNorse explorer who reached North America centuries before Columbus.David LivingstoneScottish doctor, missionary, and explorer whose search for the Nile sources aimed to gain influence to end…Henry HudsonEnglish sea explorer and navigator, best known for explorations of present-day Canada and the Northeastern…Amelia EarhartAmerican aviator and aviation pioneer.Edmund HillaryFirst confirmed climber to summit Everest, later a philanthropist and diplomat.Tenzing NorgayFirst confirmed to summit Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953.Jacques CousteauFrench naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker, and host of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.SacagaweaLemhi Shoshone or Hidatsa woman who aided the Lewis and Clark Expedition as interpreter and guide.Ponce de LeonSpanish explorer who led first European expeditions to Puerto Rico and Florida.Sir Francis DrakeEnglish explorer and privateer who led the second circumnavigation of the globe.
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