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Jan 1, 1000
Leif Ericson
More info here!!Leif Ericsson the Lucky was a Norse explorer who was more than likely the first European to sail to North America. He traveled from Greenland and was interested in Bjarni Herjulfsson's sighting of the North American coastline in 985. He landed in Vinland in 1001. He later returned to Greenland in 1002 and inherited his father's Norse colony. -
Jan 1, 1271
Marco Polo
More info here!!Marco Polo was an Italian voyager and merchant who was one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia through China. He often traveled with his father Nicolo and uncle Maffeo, and went to many places such as Sri Lanka and Hangchow, China. Marco Polo's written accounts of his travels were the first Western record of porcelain, coal, gunpowder, printing, paper money, and silk. He published a book called "Book of Ser Marco Polo" around 1298. -
Jun 24, 1497
John Cabot
More info here!!Cabot was an Italian-born, English explorer and navigator. His original name in Italy was Giovanni Caboto. At King Henry VII's request, he sailed to Canada in 1497. One of his three sons, Sabastian Cabot, sailed with him and claimed the area around Labrador for England. -
Jan 1, 1541
Jacques Cartier
More info here!!Jacques Cartier was a French explorer who led three expeditions to Canada, in 1534, 1535, and 1541. He was originally trying to find a Northwest Passage, but did not find one during his voyages. He also tried to start a settlement in Quebec in 1541, but the winter was unbearable, which led to the settlement being abandoned. He is responsible for naming modern day Canada what it is. -
Dec 13, 1577
Francis Drake
More info here!!Sir Francis Drake was a British explorer, slave-trader, privateer in the service of England, mayor of Plymouth, England, and Admiral in the Royal Navy. His claim to fame was when he circumnavigated the world in 1577. Since he was a powerful warrior, he helped defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588, which got him the nickname, "The Dragon." -
Walter Raleigh
More info here!!Raleigh was best known for being one of the earliest men to have been sent across the ocean in search of colonizing the New World. He established a settlement on a place called Roanoke island and left 30 people to colonize, but then went back to England for more people. When he returned, they mysteriously vanished. -
Samuel de Champlain
More info here!!Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer and navigator who mapped much of northeastern North America and started a settlement in Quebec. He discovered Lake Champlain, which was named after him. Champlain also helped found the city of Port Royal, Nova Scotia in 1605. He later died of a stroke on December 25th, 1635. -
Henry Hudson
More info here!!Hudson was an English explorer and navigator, who was recruited in 1609 by the Dutch East India Trading Company to discover a Northwestern Passage to Asia. In June of 1611, Hudson was mutinied by the crew of his ship, and left adrift on a small ship. He was not given any food or water, and was never seen again. -
James Cook
More info here!!Cook was a British explorer and astronomer, who went on many explorations around the world. He studied Venus in Tahiti in 1771, as well as studying the Easter Islands and Antarctica in 1775. His last voyage was trying to find a Northwest Passage from North America to Asia. He was killed by a mob on February 14, 1779 on the islands of Hawaii. -
George Vancouver
More info here!!Captain George Vancouver was an English explorer and navigator who sailed to the northwest coast of North America. Vancouver named Puget Sound, Mt. Rainier, Whidbey Island, and the Hood Canal. Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver were named after him as well.
