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Jan 1, 1254
Marco Polo
Click here for more informationMarco Polo journeyed through Asia for 24 years and made it farther then others. He traveled all of China and came back to tell the tale. He also became a confidant of Kublai Khan. -
Jan 1, 1450
John Cabot, European Explorer
Click for more informationJohn Cabot lived in Venice, Italy. He worked there as a merchant and also a navigator. Bad experienced with Arab traders made him want to find a sea route to the far east so he could avoid the Arab traders and trade directly with the Asians. King Henry VII paid for him to try to find a more northerly route then Columbus took, to Asia. He landed on the new world thinking that he had hit Asia. He then became the first European explorer to reach the New World. -
Jan 1, 1491
Jacques Cartier, French Explorer
Click here for more informationHe claimed what is now called Canada, forn France. He also mapped the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. He also voyaged to the Americas, He found a 2000 mile long river which he believed would lead to Asia. The trip was sponsered by King Francis I of France. He went on a total of 3 nothern American voyages in his career. -
Jan 1, 1540
Francis Drake, British Explorer
Click here for more informationHe was a slave trader, explorer, privateer, and also a naval officer. He led the second voyage around the world form 1577 to 1580. On his journey he pirated spanish ships for food and money/treasures. When he was on a slave trading trip to the West Indies, they were attacked by the Spanish fleet. Two out of the six ships survived, one of those two was being captained by Drake. -
Jan 1, 1554
Walter Raleigh, Elizabethan explorer
Click here for more informationHe advocated the colonialisation of the United States of America. He is also assaciated with the introduction of tobbacco and the potato into England. He sponsered the first English colony Roanoke Island, which is now North Calolina. The colony failed and another attempt failed in 1587. -
Feb 1, 1565
Henry Hudson, English Explorer
Click here for more informationHe explored and navigated the Arctic Ocean and northestern north America. He was hired by the Dutch East India Company in 1609. What he was trying to do was find the northwest passage further south. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are all named after Henry Hudson. He sailed into New Yorks harbor in 1609 and noticed that it was a nice harbor. His repotts resulted in many Dutch settlements in that area. -
Jan 1, 1567
Samuel de Champlain, French Explorer
Click here for more informationHe was a french explorer and navigater that established a settlement in Quebec. He also mapped much of northeastern north America. He discovered a lake that was named after him. The lake is called Lake Champlain. It was important in establishing the French Colonies in the new world. -
James Cook
Click for more informationHe spent his free time learning math and navigation. He led and expedition planned bt the Royal Society toTahiti. He charted New Zealand and the east side of Australia. His second voyage was a southern one because it was believed that there was much more land south that hadnt been discovered. When he returned to Britain he was elected as a member of the Royal Society. -
George Vancouver
Click heren for more informationHe was a part of the British Navy and served for 25 years. He was an important explorer for Pugent Sound. In 1792, he entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca and explored it. He named every island, mountain, waterway, and land in sight. 75 things total. -
Leif Ericson, Viking Explorer
Click here for more informationHe was a Norse explorer that was regarded as the first European to reach North America. He founded the first Norse colonies in Greenland. His first voyage that he captained was to bring girfts to a king.
