-
1000
Leif Erikson
Country: Norway/Iceland --
First European who discovered the Newfoundland -
1250
Marco Polo
Country: Italy --
Wrote journals prompting the Age of Exploration -
1419
Prince Henry (Prince Henry the Navigator)
Country: Portugal --
Founded a navigation school -
1488
Bartolomeu Diaz
Country: Portugal --
First European to sail around the south coast of Africa -
1492
Christopher Columbus
Country: Spain --
Tried to discover a quicker route to Asia but discovered the Caribbean -
1497
Amerigo Vespucci
Country: Portugal --
Explored whole coast of South America -
1497
John Cabot
Country: England--
Claimed coastal lands in present day Canada and U.S -
1497
Vasco de Gama
Country: Portugal --
First European to sail around the south of Africa and reach India -
1513
Nunez de Balboa
Country: Spain --
First European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, after crossing the Isthmus of Panama overland -
1513
Pounce de Leon
Country: Spain --
First European to set foot in Florida; in search of the Fountain of Youth -
1519
Hernan Cortes
Country: Spain --
Conquered the Aztecs in Mexico -
1521
Ferdinand Magellan
Country: Spain --
Led the first expedition to circumnavigate the world -
1522
Francisco Pizarro
Country: Spain --
Conquered Incan empire -
1524
Giovanni Verrazano
Country: Italy --
Explored northeast coast of North America form North Carolina to Maine -
1534
Jacques Cartier (pronounced: cart-e-ay)
Country: France --
Claimed St. Lawerence River and lands of Canada -
1536
Cabeza de Vaca
Country: Spain --
Claimed Florida to Mexico -
1539
Hernando de Soto
Country: Spain --
First European to explore Florida and southeastern U.S -
1540
Francisco Coronando
Country: Spain --
First European to explore North America's southwest -
John Smith
Country: England --
Founded Jamestown -
Samuel de Champlain
Country: France --
Mapped much of the north east of North America; he started settlement city of Quebec; discovered the lake that is named after him; and founded the Ottawa River and the eastern Great Lakes. -
Henry Hudson
Country: Netherlands --
Claimed Hudson River, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and went farther north than any explorer before him -
Jacques Marquette
Country: France --
Founded the Mississippi River -
Robert de la Salle
Country: France --
He explored the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico; He claimed the Mississippi River