1480- April 17, 1521
Place of Birth: Sabrosa, Portugal
Biography: Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, circa 1480. As a boy, he studied mapmaking and navigation. By his mid-20s, he was sailing in large fleets and was engaged in combat. In 1519, with the support of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Magellan set out to find a better route to the Spice Islands. He assembled a fleet of ships which, despite huge setbacks and Magellan’s death, circumnavigated the world in a single voyage.
Legacy: He is consider as the first known successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. He did not complete his final westward voyage; he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. He should also be recognized as the first explorer to enter the Pacific from the eponymous Strait of Magellan, which he discovered. Two of the closest galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, were discovered by crew members in the southern hemisphere. The full extent of the Earth was also realized, since their voyage was 14,460 leagues. Magellan's crew observed several animals that were entirely new to European science, including a "camel without humps", which could have been a llama, guanaco, vicuña, or alpaca. The need for an International Date Line was established. Upon returning they found their calendars were a day behind, even though they had faithfully maintained the ship's log. https://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080423083731AAMFydD
http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209
http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209
Cristopher Columbus
1451- May 20, 1506
Place of Birth: Genoa, Italy
Biography: Explorer Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, Italy. His first voyage into the Atlantic Ocean in 1476 nearly cost him his life. Columbus participated in several other expeditions to Africa. 1492, Columbus left Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña along side. He has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization.
Legacies: The legacy of Columbus can be seen in the many places that bear his name. Up an down the continents of the Americas there are countries, cities, and rivers named for the famed explorer. From Columbus Ohio, to the country Columbia in South America. From the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest to the capital of South Carolina. Even George Washington shares the honors of the U.S. Capitol. The D.C. tacked on to the end of the name stands for "District of Columbia".
http://www.indepthinfo.com/columbus-christopher/legacy.html
http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209#synopsis
http://www.indepthinfo.com/columbus-christopher/legacy.html
http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209#synopsis
1476- 1541
Place of Birth: Trujillo, Spain
Biography: Francisco Pizarro was born circa 1476 in Trujillo, Spain. In 1513, he joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his march to the "South Sea," during which Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. In 1532, Pizarro and his brothers conquered Peru. Three years later, Pizarro founded the nation's new capital, Lima. Pizarro was assassinated on June 26, 1541, in Lima, Peru, by vengeful members of an enemy faction of conquistadors.
Legacies: He is most known for conquering the Incan Empire of Peru and putting to death its king, Atahualpa, which firmly established Spanish control over South America.
http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/francisco-pizarro/
http://www.biography.com/people/francisco-pizarro-9442295#synopsis
Amerigo Vespucci
March 9, 1454- Febuary 22, 1512
Biography: Explorer Amerigo Vespucci was born March 9, 1451, (some scholars say 1454) in Florence, Italy. On May 10, 1497, he embarked on his first voyage. On his third and most successful voyage, he discovered present-day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. Believing he had discovered a new continent, he called South America the New World. In 1507, America was named after him. He died of malaria in Seville, Spain, on February 22, 1512.
Legacy: Vespucci realized the land he was exploring was a separate continent and not part of Asia, as he and many others believed at the time. The continents of North and South America are named after him.
http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/amerigo-vespucci/
http://www.biography.com/people/amerigo-vespucci-9517978#synopsis
Juan Ponce De Leon
Place of Birth: Santervás de Campos,Spain
Biography: Born in Spain in 1460, Juan Ponce de León led a European expedition for gold, which eventually brought him to the southeast coast of what would become the United States. He gave Florida its name and went on to become the first governor of Puerto Rico. Legacies: Juan Ponce was an important pioneer and explorer. He is most often associated with Florida and Puerto Rico and even to this day he is best known in those places.
http://www.biography.com/people/juan-ponce-de-le%C3%B3n-9444105#synopsis
Portuguese Explorers
1469- December 24, 1524
Place of Birth: Sines, Portugal
Biography: Explorer Vasco da Gama was born in Sines, Portugal, around 1460. In 1497, he was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. His success in doing so proved to be one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation. He subsequently made two other voyages to India, and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India in 1524.
Legacies: He discovered an ocean route from Portugal to the East.
http://www.biography.com/people/vasco-da-gama-9305736
Bartholomeu Dias (Bartholomew Diaz)1450- May 29, 1500
Place of Birth: Algarve, Portugal
Biography: Born in 1450, Bartolomeu Dias was sent by Portuguese King John II to explore the coast of Africa and find a way to the Indian Ocean. Dias departed circa August 1487, rounding the southernmost tip of Africa in January, 1488. The Portuguese (possibly Dias himself) named this point of land the Cape of Good Hope. Dias was lost at sea during another expedition around the Cape in 1500.
Legacies: He is considered as the first European explorer to lead a 1487 voyage around the Cape of Good Hope on the Southern most tip of South Africa.
Pedro Álvares Cabral
1467-1520
Place of Birth: Belmonte, Portugal
Biography: Cabral's patron was King Manuel I of Portugal, who sent him on an expedition to India. Cabral's 13 ships left on March 9, 1500, following the route of Vasco da Gama. On April 22, 1500, he sighted land (Brazil), claiming it for Portugal and naming it the "Island of the True Cross." King Manuel renamed this land Holy Cross; it was later renamed once again, to Brazil, after a kind of dyewood found there, called pau-brasil. Cabral stayed in Brazil for 10 days and then continued on his way to India, in a trip fraught with storms, shipwrecks (at the Cape of Good Hope), and fighting (50 of Cabral's men were killed after an attack from Muslim traders in Calicut, India, who did not want competition on their spice routes). Cabral successfully traded for spices in Cochin (now called Kozhikode), India (in early January, 1501). Cabral returned to Portugal on June 23, 1501, with only four of the original 13 ships. After this journey, King Manuel appointed Vasco da Gama to head the next expedition (1502), and Cabral retired. He is buried in a monastery in Santarém, Portugal.
Legacies: Famous Portuguese explorer which was considered to be the first to see Brazil in 1500.
www.britannica.com/biography/Pedro-Alvares-Cabral
1394-1460
Place of Birth: Porto, Kingdom of Portugal
Biography: Henry was the third surviving son of King John I and his wife Philippa, sister of King Henry IV of England. He was baptized in Porto, and may have been born there, probably when the royal couple was living in the city's old mint, now called Casa do Infante (Prince's House), or in the region nearby. Another possibility is that he was born at the Monastery of Leça do Bailio, in Leça da Palmeira, during the same residential passage of the royal couple in the city of Porto.
Henry was 21 when he, his father and brothers captured the Moorish port of Ceuta in northern Morocco, that had long been a base for Barbary pirates who raided the Portuguese coast, depopulating villages by capturing their inhabitants to be sold in the African slave market. Following this success, Henry started to explore the coast of Africa, most of which was unknown to Europeans. His objectives included finding the source of the West African gold trade and the legendary Christian kingdom of Prester John, and stopping the pirate attacks on the Portuguese coast. At that time the ships of the Mediterranean were too slow and too heavy to make these voyages. Under his direction, a new and much lighter ship was developed, the caravel, which could sail further and faster, and, above all, was highly maneuverable and could sail much nearer the wind, or into the wind. This made the caravel largely independent of the prevailing winds, and enabled her to explore the shallow waters and rivers as well as the open ocean with wide autonomy. In 1419, Henry's father appointed him governor of the province of the Algarve.
Legacy: Although Prince Henry rarely participated in explorations, he sent many expeditions from Portugal to the west coast of Africa, and was responsible for Portugal's influence in the Great Age of Exploration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_the_Navigator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_the_Navigator
Tristão Vaz Teixeira
1395–1480Place of Birth: Kingdom of Portugal
Biography: Tristão was a nobleman of Prince Henry the Navigator's House, taking part in the conquest of Ceuta.Around 1418, while exploring the coast of Africa, he and João Gonçalves Zarco were taken off course by bad weather, and came upon an island which they called Porto Santo (Holy Harbor). Shortly after, they were ordered by Prince Henry to settle the island, together with Bartolomeu Perestrelo. Following a rabbit outbreak that made it difficult to grow crops, they moved to the nearby island of Madeira. It proved to be hospitable and cultivable, so Prince Henry sent for more settlers to colonize the island. The governance of Madeira was divided between Zarco and Tristão, who were appointed Captain-majors (capitães-donatários) of Funchal and Machico, respectively. Tristão was officially designated to the post in May 11, 1440. Tristão Vaz took part in further raids and explorations along the coast of Africa throughout his life. He died at Silves, at and advanced age.
Legacy:the official discoverer and one of the first settlers of the archipelago of Madeira (1419–1420).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trist%C3%A3o_Vaz_Teixeira
French Explorers
Jacques MarquetteAugust 13, 1574- May 18, 1675
Place of Birth: Laon, France
Biography: Jacques Marquette was born in Laon, France, on June 1, 1637. He joined the Society of Jesus at age 17 and became a Jesuit missionary. He founded missions in present-day Michigan and later joined explorer Louis Joliet on an expedition to discover and map the Mississippi River.
Legacy: Marquette has been recognized and memorialized for his accomplishments, particularly in the names of many towns, parks and geographical locations. Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was named for him. Several statues have also been erected in his honor, including one at the Prairie du Chien post office, at Quebec's parliament building and in his birthplace of Laon, France. http://www.biography.com/people/jacques-marquette-20984755
August 13, 1574- December 25, 1635
Place of Birth: Hiers-Brouage, France
Biography: Samuel de Champlain, "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. French explorer Samuel de Champlain was born in 1574 in Brouage, France. He began exploring North America in 1603, establishing the city of Quebec in the northern colony of New France, and mapping the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes, before settling into an administrative role as the de facto governor of New France in 1620. He died on December 25, 1635, in Quebec.
Legacies: He expanded the French colony and founded the city of Quebec.
www.biography.com/people/samuel-de-champlain-9243971
Jacques CartierDecember 31, 1491- September 1, 1557
Place of Birth: Saint-Malo, France
Biography: French navigator Jacques Cartier was born on December 31, 1491, in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France, and was sent by King Francis I to the New World in search of riches and a new route to Asia in 1534. His exploration of the St. Lawrence River allowed France to lay claim to lands that would become Canada. He died in Saint-Malo in 1557.
Legacies: He discovered the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and explored much of its area; gave Canada and Canadians their name. http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/jacques-cartier/
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La SalleNovember 21, 1643- March 19, 1687
Place of Birth: Rouen, France
Biography: Born in Rouen, France, on November 22, 1643, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was an explorer best known for leading an expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, claiming the region watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries for France, and naming it Louisiana after King Louis XIV. His last expedition was to invade and conquer part of the Spanish province of Mexico, which failed and cost La Salle his life.
Legacy:In 1995, La Salle's ship La Belle was found in Matagorda Bay and has since been the site of archaeological research. The artifacts retrieved from the ship are currently on display at museums throughout Texas. In addition, La Salle has had many places and organizations named in his honor. Most important to La Salle's legacy though are the contributions he made to the spread of knowledge about the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi Basin. His claiming of Louisiana for France is also significant to the way the area is known today in terms of its cities' physical layouts and the cultural practices of the people there. http://geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/delasalle.html
Jacques CousteauJune 11, 1910- June 25, 1997
Place of Birth: Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France
Biography: Born on June 11, 1910, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France, Jacques Cousteau co-invented the Aqua-Lung, a breathing device for scuba-diving, in 1943. In 1945, he started the French Navy's undersea research group. In 1951, he began going on yearly trips to explore the ocean on the Calypso. Cousteau recorded his trips on the TV series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. In 1996, the Calypso sunk. Cousteau died on June 25, 1997, in Paris, France.
Legacy: La Salle's major legacy was establishing the network of forts from Fort Frontenac to outposts along the Great Lakes, Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi rivers that came to define French territorial, diplomatic and commercial policy for almost a century between his first expedition and the 1763 cession of New France to Great Britain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9-Robert_Cavelier,_Sieur_de_La_Salle
www.biography.com/people/jacques-cousteau-9259496
English Explorers
Allan Cunningham July 13, 1791- June 27, 1839
Place of Birth: Wimbledon, Surrey
Biography: He was born at Keir, near Dalswinton, Dumfries and Galloway, and first worked as a stonemason's apprentice. His father was a neighbour of Robert Burns at Ellisland, and Allan with his brother James visited James Hogg, the "Ettrick shepherd", who became a friend to both. Cunningham's other brothers were the naval surgeon Peter Miller Cunningham (1789–1864) and the poet, Thomas Mounsey Cunningham (1776–1834).
Cunningham was apprenticed to a stonemason, but gave his leisure to reading and writing imitations of old Scottish ballads. In 1809 he collected old ballads for Robert Hartley Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song; he sent in, however, poems of his own, which the editor inserted, even though he may have suspected their real authorship. It gained for him the friendship of Walter Scott and Hogg.
In 1810 Cunningham went to London, where he worked as a parliamentary reporter and journalist till 1814, when he became clerk of the works in the studio of the sculptor, Francis Chantrey, a post he kept until Chantrey's death in 1841.
Legacy:Cunningham was a hard worker as a botanist, and barely had time between his journeys to give evidence of his scientific prowess, though a few of his papers will be found in journals of the period. His immense collections of specimens mostly went to Kew Gardens and eventually to the British Museum. He also takes high rank among Australian explorers, for though his parties were small in number and comparatively poorly equipped, his courage, resourcefulness, and knowledge, enabled him to achieve what he set out to do, and his journeys opened up much country for settlement.
Some of Australia's plants: Araucaria cunninghamii , Archontophoenix cunninghamiana , Banksia cunninghamii, Bauhinia cunninghamii, Casuarina cunninghamiana , Centipeda cunninghamii , Ficus cunninghamii, Medicosma cunninghamii, Nothofagus cunninghamii , Pennantia cunninghamii , and Polyosma cunninghamii commemorate Allan and his brother Richard, a botanist. The Cunningham Highway is named in honour of Allan. The genus Alania was created by Endlicher in Cunningham's honour. The Australian federal seat of Cunningham, which stretches from Port Kembla in the south of Wollongong to Heathcote in Southern Sydney, was named after him in honour of his being the first European explorer to visit the Illawarra region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Cunningham_(botanist)
1540- 1596
Place of Birth: Devonshire, England
Biograpy: He was involved in piracy and illicit slave trading before being chosen in 1577 as the leader of an expedition intended to pass around South America, through the Strait of Magellan, and explore the coast that lay beyond. Drake successfully completed the journey and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I upon his triumphant return. In 1588 he saw action in the English defeat of the Spanish Armada, though he died in 1596 from dysentery after undertaking an unsuccessful raiding mission.
Legacy:Drake's exploits as an explorer have become an irrevocable part of the world's subconsciousness, particularly in Europe. Numerous stories and fictional adaptations of his adventures exist to this day. Considered a hero in England, it is said that if England is ever in peril, beating Drake's Drum will cause Drake to return to save the country. This is a variation of the sleeping hero folk-tale.During his circumnavigation of the globe, Drake left a plate upon leaving his landing place on the west coast of North America, claiming the land for England. In the 1930s, it appeared that Drake's plate had been found near San Francisco. Forty years later, scientists confirmed that the plate was a hoax, as had been suspected. Later information attributed the hoax to E Clampus Vitus. Drake's adventures, though less known in the United States, still have some effect. For instance, a major east-west road in Marin County, California is named Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. It connects Point San Quentin on San Francisco Bay with Point Reyes and Drakes Bay. Each end is near a site considered by some to be Drake's landing place.
http://www.biography.com/people/francis-drake-9278809#final-expeditions-and-death
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Francis_Drake
John Cabot1450-1499
Place of Birth: Italy
Biography: Explorer and navigator John Cabot was born Giovanni Caboto in Italy around 1450. By 1495, he had moved to Bristol, England, with his family. He made a voyage in 1497 on the ship Matthew and claimed land in Canada—mistaking it for Asia—for King Henry VII of England.
Legacy: John Cabot discovered the island of Newfoundland on June 24, 1497. Many people believe he landed at Cape Bonavista. Records from that time show that Cabot may also have landed on the shores of Labrador.
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/excabot.ht...
http://www.biography.com/people/john-cabot-9234057#early-years
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/john-cabot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cabot
5 September 1651- March 1715
Place of Birth: Hymerford House in East Coker, Somerset
Biography:William Dampier was the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian, as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between Sir Walter Raleigh and James Cook.
After impressing the British Admiralty with his book, A New Voyage Round the World, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship and made important discoveries in western Australia, but was court-martialled for cruelty. On a later voyage, he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier include James Cook, Lord Nelson, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Legacy:He made important contributions to navigation, collecting for the first time data on currents, winds and tides across all the world’s oceans that was used by James Cook and Horatio Nelson.His travel journals depicting Panama may have influenced the undertaking of the ill-fated Darien Scheme, leading to the Act of Union of 170. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, was likely inspired by accounts of real-life castaway Alexander Selkirk, a crew member on Dampier's voyages. Jonathan Swift explicitly mentions Dampier in his Gulliver's Travels as a mariner comparable to Lemuel Gulliver. His notes on the fauna and flora of north-western Australia were studied by naturalist and scientist Joseph Banks, who made further studies during the first voyage with James Cook. This helped lead to the naming of and colonisation of Botany Bay and the founding of modern Australia.
Legacy: His reports on breadfruit led to William Bligh's ill-fated voyage in HMS Bounty. Another storied crew mate of Dampier's, Simon Hatley, who is best remembered for shooting an albatross while his ship battled storms off Cape Horn, influenced the writing of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. His observations and analysis of natural history helped Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin develop their scientific theories. His observations (and those of Mr William Funnell) during his expeditions are mentioned several times by Alfred Russel Wallace in his book The Malay Archipelago, and compared to his own observations made on his 19th-century voyages.
He is cited over 80 times in the Oxford English Dictionary, notably on words such as "barbecue", "avocado", "chopsticks" and "sub-species". That is not to say he coined the words, but his use of them in his writings is the first known example in English.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dampier
John Hawkins1532–1595
Place of Birth: Plymouth, England
Biography: Born in 1532 in Plymouth, England, John Hawkins established himself as a merchant and slave trader, eventually having hostile encounters with Spanish naval forces. He later became treasurer and controller of the English navy and oversaw the creation of more technologically advanced vessels. He died on November 12, 1595 while en route to a raid in Puerto Rico.
Legacy:The first English slaver and the first Englishman to invade the Caribbean which was largely of Spanish possession.
Dutch Explorers
1567-1625
Place of Birth: Hoorn, Holland
Biography: Willem Cornelisz Schouten was born in Hoorn, Holland, Seventeen Provinces. Willem Cornelisz Schouten was a Dutch navigator for the Dutch East India Company. In 1615 Willem Cornelisz Schouten and Jacob le Maire sailed from Texel in the Netherlands, in command of an expedition sponsored by Isaac Le Maire and his Australische Compagnie in equal shares with Schouten. A main purpose of the voyage was to search for Terra Australis, which eluded them. A further objective was to evade the trade restrictions of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) by finding a new route to the Pacific and the Spice Islands.
Legacy:First to sail in Cape Horn route to Pacific Ocean.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Schouten
Henry Hudson1565-1611
Place of Birth: England, United Kingdom
Biography: Believed to have been born in the late 16th century, English explorer Henry Hudson made two unsuccessful sailing voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia. In 1609, he embarked on a third voyage funded by the Dutch East India Company that took him to the New World and the river that would be given his name. On his fourth voyage, Hudson came upon the body of water that would later be called the Hudson Bay.
Legacy:Explored Chesapeake Bay and discovered the Hudson River in 1609 and claimed New Amsterdam,Manhattan Island for the Dutch.
www.biography.com/people/henry-hudson-9346049
Jacob van Heemskerk1567 - 1607
Place of Birth: Amsterdam
Biography: Jacob van Heemskerk was born in Amsterdam in 1567. He is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, fair hair and beard, and a soft gentle expression. Under a quiet exterior and plain dress were a daring nature and indomitable ambition for military and naval distinction.
Legacy: He commanded the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Gibraltar.
Abel Janszoon Tasman
1603-1659
Place of Birth: Lutjegast, Dutch republic
Biography: Abel Jans Tasman was born in 1603 in Lutjegast in what is now the province of Groningen, the Netherlands. The oldest available source mentioning him dates 27 December 1631 when, as a widower living in Amsterdam, he became engaged to marry 21-year-old Jannetje Tjaers from the Jordaan district of the city.
Legacy: Discovered New Zealand, Tasmania and Fiji.
Tasman
Willem Barentsz
1550-1597
Place of Birth: Terschelling, Seventeen Provinces
Bioraphy: Willem Barentsz was born around 1550 on the island Terschelling in theSeventeen Provinces, present-day Netherlands. He was a Dutch navigator,cartographer, and Arctic explorer. He went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. A cartographer by trade, Barentsz sailed to Spain and the Mediterranean to complete an atlas of the Mediterranean region, which he co-published withPetrus Plancius. His career as an explorer was spent searching for the Northeast passage, which he reasoned must exist as clear, open water north of Siberia since the sun shone 24 hours a day, which he believed would have melted any potential ice.
Legacy: He searched for the Northeast Passage above Siberia. He discovered Bear Island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Barentsz
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