Philosophers During the Enlightenment Period

John Locke
1632–1704

Place of Birth: Somerset, England

Biography: John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Wrington, Somerset, England, went to Westminster school and then Christ Church, University of Oxford. At Oxford he studied medicine, which would play a central role in his life. He became a highly influential philosopher, writing about such topics as political philosophy, epistemology, and education. Locke's writings helped found modern Western philosophy.

Ideas: His Ideas include that we acquire ideas through our experience of the world.

Legacy: In his famous Two Treatises of Government in 1690, he championed the idea of a representative government that would best serve all constituents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke 
www.history.com/topics/john-locke

Rene Descartes
1596- 1650

Place of Birth: Descartes, Indre-et-Loire, France

Biography: René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Dubbed the father of modern philosophy, much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day 

Ideas: Descartes did not believe that the information we receive through our senses is necessarily accurate. 

Legacy: René Descartes is often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/René_Descartes

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/descartes/themes.html

Voltaire

1694-1778

Place of Birth: Paris, France

Biography: The most celebrated of the philosophers was Voltaire. He wrote poetry, plays, essays and books in an entertaining style and often satirical. His most celebrated satire was Candide. In his youth Voltaire twice served time in the Bastille, the prison in Paris. His works that mocked the church and the  Royal Court of France placed him in prison. He was again put into prison when he was accused of insulting a nobleman. Voltaire was given a choice between further imprisonment and exile in France he chose the latter. When Voltaire moved to England, he felt free. His 3 years in England was spent writing books promoting Bacon’s philosophy and the science of newton.

Ideas: He is well known for the statement ”I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.” 

Legacy: Voltiare’s main contribution to the Enlightenment was freedom of speech, press and religion and opposition to monarchy, militarism and slavery. He was very pessimistic of human nature. He didn’t want to create a perfect world. He just wanted everyone to know that it could be a better place if we substituted ignorance and superstition for knowledge and rational thought.
https://francois-marie-arouet-voltaire.wikispaces.com
www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_voltaire.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire

 Charles Montesquieu

1689- 1755

Place of Birth: La Brède, France

Biography: Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French lawyer, man of letters, and political philosopher who lived during the Age of Enlightenment. Through his education and travels he became a sharp social commentator and political thinker who gained the respect of his fellow philosophers with his masterwork The Spirit of Laws, which went on to have a major influence on English and American government.

Ideas:The government should be the one to protect the freedom of the people

Legacy: Non-despotic Government 
www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/montesquieu/montesquieu-bio.html
www.britannica.com/biography/Montesquieu

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712- 1778

Place of Birth: Geneva, Switzerland

Biography: He was a philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment in France and across Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the overall development of modern political and educational thought.

Ideas: Original man, in his natural state, is entirely free and virtuous.

Legacy: Social contract theory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau

www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/

Scientists During the Scientific Revolution

Galileo Galilei
1564–1642

Place of Birth: Pisa, Duchy of Florence, Italy

Biography: He was an Italian astronomer,physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician who played a major role in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance. Galileo has been called the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics",and the "father of science". His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments.

Legacy/ Discoveries/ Contributions: He contradicted the church ideas and set his own for the people and other fellow scientist which may be used to help them look for more ideas and facts about the world. He also made the Telescope that help him studied and observed the outer space and other heavenly bodies. He also contributed many things not only in Science but also in Mathematics and in discovery of Physics.He discovered the four largest satellites of Jupiter and it was named after him. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

Nicolaus Copernicus

1473- 1543

Place of Birth: Toruń, Poland

Biography: Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19 February 1473 in the city of Toruń , in the province of Royal Prussia, in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. His father was a merchant from Kraków and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy Toruń merchant. Nicolaus was the youngest of four children. His brother Andreas became an Augustinian canon at Frombork. His sister Barbara, named after her mother, became a Benedictine nun and, in her final years, prioress of a convent in Chełmno; she died after 1517. His sister Katharina married the businessman and Toruń city councilor Barthel Gertner and left five children, whom Copernicus looked after to the end of his life. Copernicus never married or had children.

Legacies/ Discoveries/ Contributions: The publication of this model in his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) just before his death in 1543 is considered a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making an important contribution to the Scientific Revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus

Isaac Newton
1642–1727

Place of Birth: Woolsthorpe, England

Biography: Born on January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England, Isaac Newton was an established physicist and mathematician, and is credited as one of the great minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution. With discoveries in optics, motion and mathematics, Newton developed the principles of modern physics. In 1687, he published his most acclaimed work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which has been called the single most influential book on physics. Newton died in London on March 31, 1727.

Legacies/ Discoveries/ Contributions: Newton’s discoveries anchored the Scientific Revolution and set the stage for everything that followed in mathematics and physics. He shared credit for the creation of calculus, and his Philosophiae Naturalist Principia Mathematical introduced the world to gravity and fundamental laws of motion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IsaacNewton


William Harvey
1578- 1657

Place of Birth: Folkestone, United Kingdom

Biography: William Harvey was born in Folkestone, Kent on 1 April 1578. His father was a merchant. Harvey was educated at King's College, Canterbury and then at Cambridge University. He then studied medicine at the University of Padua in Italy, where the scientist and surgeon Hieronymus Fabricius tutored him.

Legacies/ Discoveries/ Contributions: He discovered that blood circulates through our whole body. He made a map of the circulatory system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Harvey

Albert Einstein

1879- 1955

Place of Birth: Ulm, Germany

Biography: Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire on 14 March 1879. His parents were Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer, and Pauline Koch. In 1880, the family moved to Munich, where his father and his uncle founded Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, a company that manufactured electrical equipment based on direct current. On 17 April 1955, Albert Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which had previously been reinforced surgically by Rudolph Nissen in 1948. He took the draft of a speech he was preparing for a television appearance commemorating the State of Israel's seventh anniversary with him to the hospital, but he did not live long enough to complete it.

Legacies/ Discoveries/ Contributions:  Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein is best known in popular culture for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 . He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "services to theoretical physics", in particular his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Explorers during the age of exploration

Spanish Explorers

Ferdinand Magellan
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

   

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

Francisco Pizarro
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

Place of Birth: Florence, Italy

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

1474- July 1521

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

Vasco Da Gama
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

Prince Henry the Navigator
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

Tristão Vaz Teixeira

1395–1480

Place 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 Marquette
 August 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

 Samuel de Champlain
 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 Cartier
December 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 Salle
November 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

www.biography.com/people/rené-robert-cavelier-sieur-de-la-salle-38429

Jacques Cousteau
June 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)             


                                                      

Francis Drake      
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 Cabot
1450-1499

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

William Dampier
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 Hawkins
1532–1595

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.

 http://www.biography.com/people/john-hawkins-38613