Explorers Timeline

lief erickson*

Sep 11, 1000

Leif sailed north from the southern tip of Greenland, then went south along the coast of Baffin Island down to Labrador, and then landed in what is now called Newfoundland (which he called Vinland). Ericsson sailed around the year 1000.

Henry The Navigator*

Sep 10, 1414

Henry The Navigator was a Portuguese royal prince, soldier, and patron of explorers. Henry sent many sailing expeditions down Africa's west coast, but did not go on them himself. Thanks to Prince Henry's patronage, Portuguese ships sailed to the Madeira Islands. founded the school of navigation

BARTOLOMEU Diez

Sep 10, 1488

Bartolomeu Dias (1457-1500) was a great Portuguese navigator and explorer who explored Africa's coast. In 1488, Dias led the first European expedition to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, leaving Tagus, Portugal in 1487. This breakthrough of circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope opened up lucrative trading routes from Europe to Asia. Dias may have originally called the southern tip of Africa the "Cape of Storms"; it was later renamed the Cape of Good Hope. On a later expedition (in 1500,

Colombus*

Sep 10, 1492

Christopher Columbus was hoping to find a route to India He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America, sailing for Spain. On his first trip, Columbus went with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

John Cabot *

Sep 10, 1497

Cabot explored the Canadian coastline and named many of its islands and capes. The mission's purpose was to search for a Northwest passage across North America to Asia (a seaway to Asia). Cabot was unsuccessful, although he thought that he had reached northeastern Asia.
Cabot undertook a second, larger expedition in 1498. On this trip, Cabot may have reached America, but that is uncertain. Cabot's expeditions were the first of Britain's claims to Canada.
John Cabot died in England in 1499.

Amerigo Vespucci *

Sep 10, 1507

was an Italian explorer who was the first person to realize that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia. America was named for him in 1507. On his first expedition (sailing for spain) Vespucci was the navigator under under the command of Alonso de Ojeda. On this trip, Ojeda and Vespucci discovered the mouth of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in South America

Vasco nunez de Balboa*

Sep 10, 1513

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a Spanish conquistador and explorer. He was the first European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama overland.

Hernando cortez*

Sep 10, 1519

Hernando Cortez overthrew the Aztec empire and claimed Mexico for Spain.
Cortes sailed with 11 ships from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula to look for gold, silver, and other treasures. Hearing rumors of great riches,claiming all of Mexico for Spain in 1521.

Ferdinand Magellan*

Sep 10, 1522

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth (1519-1522). Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean.

Giovanni Verrazzano*

Sep 10, 1524

Giovanni da Verrazzano was an Italian navigator who, in 1524, explored the northeast coast of North America from Cape Fear, North Carolina to Maine while searching for a Northwest passage to Asia. Verrazzano sailed for King François-premier (Francis I) of France. Verrazzano's brother, Girolamo da Verrazzano, was a mapmaker who accompanyed Giovanni on his voyage, and mapped the voyage.

Jack Cottier*

Sep 10, 1534

Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) was a French explorer who led three expeditions to Canada, in 1534, 1535, and 1541. He was looking for a route to the Pacific through North America (a Northwest Passage) but did not find one. Cartier paved the way for French exploration of North America.
Cartier sailed inland, going 1,000 miles up the St. Lawrence River. He also tried to start a settlement in Quebec (in 1541), but it was abandoned after a terribly cold winter. Cartier named Canada; "Kanata" means vill

Hernando De Soto*

Sep 10, 1537

Hernando De Soto was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Atlantic Ocean and was the first European to explore Florida and the southeastern US.

Francisco Pizarro*

Sep 10, 1538

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador who traveled through much of the Pacific coast of America along Peru. He "discovered" the Incan empire and conquered it brutally and quickly, stealing immense hoards of gold, silver, and other treasures.

Francis Drake*

Sep 10, 1580

Sir Francis Drake (1545-1596) was a British explorer, slave-trader, privateer (a pirate working for a government) in the service of England, mayor of Plymouth, England, and naval officer (he was an Admiral). Drake led the second expedition to sail around the world in a voyage lasting from 1577 to 1580 (Magellan led the first voyage around the world).

walter raleigh

Sep 10, 1591

Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) was a British explorer, poet, historian, and soldier. Raleigh led expeditions to both North America and South America; he was trying to found new settlements, find gold, and increase trade with the New World. In 1585, Raleigh sent colonists to the east coast of North America; Raleigh later named that area Virginia, in honour of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. He is often credited with bringing tobacco and potatoes from the New World to Britain, but they were already k

Henry Hutson*

Sep 10, 1600

Henry Hudson (1565-1611) was an English explorer and navigator who explored parts of the Arctic Ocean and northeastern North America. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are named for Hudson.

Peter Minuit*

Sep 10, 1647

Peter Minuit was the first director general of New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony in America. Minuit was sent to the area by the Dutch West India Company. Minuit is famous for buying the island of Manhattan (in what is now New York, USA) from Native Americans in 1626. He bought the island with trinkets valued at about $24. He founded New Amsterdam on the southern tip of Manhattan. In 1631, Minuit was dismissed from the Dutch West India Company, and in 1638 headed a Swedish group that founded New Swed

Jaqk Marquette*

Sep 10, 1650

Born: June 1, 1637, Laon, France
father Jacques Marquette S.J., sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan.

James Cook*

Sep 10, 1770

James Cook (October 27, 1728- February 14, 1779) was a British explorer and astronomer who went on many expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, Antarctic, Arctic, and around the world.
Cook's first journey was from 1768 to 1771, when he sailed to Tahiti in order to observe Venus as it passed between the Earth and the Sun (in order to try to determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun). During this expedition, he also mapped New Zealand and eastern Australia.
Cook's second expedition (1772-177