Famous Explorers

John Cabot

Sep 10, 1450

Was an Italian-born English explorer and navigator. In Italy, he is known as Giovanni Caboto (which is his original name).1497 he commanded a small vessel called the "Matthew". Sailed to cananda because King Henry VIII.

Henry the navigator

Sep 10, 1455

Prince Henry (Henrique) the Navigator (1394-1460) 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 (1420), rounded Cape Bojador (Eannes, 1434), sailed to Cape Blanc (1441), sailed around Cap Vert (1455), and went as far as the Gambia River (Cadamosto, 1456) and Cape Palmas (Gomes, 1459-1460).

Christopher Columbus/First Voyage

Sep 10, 1492

Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. On his first trip, Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Niña (captained by Vicente Yáñez Pinzon), the Pinta (owned and captained by Martin Alonzo Pinzon), and the Santa Maria (captained by Columbus), and about 90 crew members. They set sail on Aug. 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain, and on October 11, 1492, spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. They landed on an island they called Guanahani, but Columb

Christopher Columbus/Second Voyage

Sep 10, 1493

On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493-June 11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the Indies. Columbus established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around Hispaniola and along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493.

Christopher Columbus/ Third Voyage

Sep 10, 1498

On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500), Columbus sailed farther south, to Trinidad and Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco River). Columbus was the first European since the Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot on the mainland of America.

Vasco Bal Boa

Sep 15, 1500

Looking for treasure and wanted to colonize

Christopher Columbus

Sep 10, 1502

On his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504), Columbus sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama (in Central America) and Santiago (Jamaica). Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).

Amerigo Vespucci

Sep 10, 1507

Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) 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, when the German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller, printed the first map that used the name America for the New World.
On his first expedition (sailing for Spain, 1499-1500), 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 Or

Giovanni Verrazzano

Sep 10, 1524

Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485-1528) 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.

Hernando De Soto

Sep 10, 1524

De Soto was born in the Spanish province of Extremadura (near Portugal). In 1524, he went on an expedition to Nicaragua, South America, with Francisco de Cordoba. De Soto sided with Pedro Arias de Ávila (also called Pedrarias Dávila) against Cordoba (who had tried to claim land for himself), and Cordoba was killed. De Soto lived for a while in Nicaragua, prospering by engaging in the slave trade.

Francisco Pizzaro

Sep 10, 1532

Pizarro landed at San Mateo Bay in 1532. After traveling through desert and snow-capped mountains, Pizarro and his men (who included Hernando de Soto) arrived at Cajamarca (in 1533), where they captured Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas. Atahuallpa had just won a civil war against his half-brother (Huáscar), and had executed Huáscar and his family. Atahuallpa had invited Pizarro to a celebratory feast, thinking that the Spanish were not much of a threat. Pizarro ambushed Atahual

Jack Cottier

Sep 10, 1534

Walter Raleigh

Sep 10, 1554

British explorer, poet, historian, and a soldier. Led expeditions to North and South America. Attempted to found new settlements, find gold and intoduce trade to the new worlds.

Francis Drake

Sep 10, 1577

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).

Henry Hutson

Sep 10, 1607

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.

Jaqk Marquette

Sep 10, 1666

Father Jacques Marquette (1637-1675) was a French Jesuit priest and explorer. He sailed to Quebec in 1666 and in 1671 started a Chippewa mission at Chequamegon Bay (at the western end of Lake Superior). Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette (and five others) found the Mississippi River in 1673; they were the first Caucasians to see the Mississippi River. They travelled along Lake Michigan to Green Bay, canoed up the Fox River, and went downstream on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi Riv

James Cook

Sep 10, 1728

Hartola Diez

Sep 10, 2015