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Jan 1, 1000
Leif Ericksson Norse
Leif Ericksson settles on the coast of North America, which he calls Vinland -
Jan 1, 1271
Marco Polo Italian
Marco Polo traveled to Asia in 1271 and came back with silk. He wrote a book about his travels in Asia called The Travels of Marco Polo. -
Jan 1, 1418
Prince Henry the Navigator Portuguese
Prince Henry started a school of navigation in 1418 along with an observatory and between 1434 to 1458 he and a bunch of other voyagers made many trips to sail further south of Africa. -
Jan 1, 1488
Bartolomeu Dias Portuguese
Bartolomeu Dias was the first explorer to lead an expedition around the Cape of Good Hope. -
Jan 1, 1497
Vasco de Gama Portuguese
Vasco de Gama travels around the cape of Good Hope and settles in India -
Jan 1, 1501
Amerigo Vespucci Italian
When Amerigo Vespucci led a Spanish fleet to South America he thought that he found a "New World" not Asia -
Jan 1, 1513
Juan Ponce de Leon Spanish
Juan Ponce de Leon founded the oldest settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered Florida while searching for the fountain of youth. -
Jan 1, 1518
Hernando Cortes Spanish
Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztec civilization and was appointed governor of Spain in 1522. -
Jan 1, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese
Ferdinand set out to circumnaviagte the world but he and most of his crew was killed by native people in the Philippines. -
Jan 1, 1524
Giovanni da Verrazzano Italian
Giovanni da Verrazzano chartered the Atlantic coast of North America starting from the Carolinas all the way to Newfoundland. This includes the New York Harbor and the Verrazzano bridge, which as you can see, was named after him. -
Jan 1, 1577
Sir Francis Drake English
He circumnavigated the world and assisted in the defeat of the Spanich Armada, the most renowned seaman in the Elizabethan Era. -
Henry Hudson English
Henry Hudson sailed into New York's harbor on September 3rd 1609 and is credited with discovering the area we know as New York City. Also, the Hudson River, Hudson Straight, and Hudson Bay are all named after Henry Huson. -
Period: to
Famous Explorers
