Christopher Columbus
New World explorer who discovered the Americas in 1492 and South America in 1498, European navigator, British Columbia, D.C. (District of Columbia) and Columbus (Ohio/Georgia), etc. are in his name
Abel Tasman
Dutch navigator for the Dutch East India Company between 1642-1644, seafarer, merchant explorer who discovered Fiji, Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania Island and New Zealand around 1649.
1603-1659 (56)
australian.museum
Amerigo Vespucci
Merchant of the Republic of Florence, known for the discovery of the United States of America, navigator during the Age of Discovery, explorer, voyager between 1497-1504 for Spain and Portugal
1454-1512 (58)
livescience.com
Amundsen
Navigator, explorer who discovered South Pole on Dec. 14, 1911
Bartolomeu Dias
Explorer, first mariner to round the tip of Africa and sail the Indian Ocean
1450-1500 (50)
history.com
Christopher Newport
Privateer, seaman, explorer, captain of the Susan Constant that settled in Jamestown, Virginia and began to build Fort St. George in 1607-1608, sailed to Bermuda in 1609 on the Sea Venture, the Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Virginia was named after him
1561-1617 (56)
Erik the Red
Norwegian Viking, founded Norwegian settlement in Greenland
biography.com
Henry Hudson
Navigator, explorer who discovered the Hudson River in New Jersey and New York City, the Hudson Bay Strait in 1610 which are part of the Northwestern Passages in Canada linking the Labrador Sea to the Atlantic Ocean
1565-1611 (46)
britannica.com
Jacob Roggeveen
European navigator, explorer, first visitor to Easter Island in 1722
Jacques Cartier
Explorer, world traveler who discovered Quebec (Canada), prevented scurvy with tea
britannica.com
Captain James Cook
explorer aka Captain Cook, Cpt Cook, cartographer, navigator during the Age of Enlightenment, first voyage to Eastern Australia in 1770, antiquity crew sailed the Pacific Ocean with botanist Joseph Banks
1728-1779 (51)
John Cabot
Venetian explorer, navigator in Canada, Japan and Ireland, visited Mecca, North Atlantic maritime explorer of Canada which helped establish the British colonies of North America, discovered Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland in 1497, sailed in 1498 through a severe storm and was pronounced dead in 1499.
1450-1499 (49)
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
John Franklin
Artic explorer of William Island (Nunavut), naval officer, pioneer in polar expeditions & discovery missions to the Arctic circle
1786-1847 (61)
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
John Smith
Colonial soldier, explorer, writer, colonial governor, admiral of New England, pioneer who learned from the Powhatan originals, established Jamestown colony in Virginia
1580-1631 (51)
history.com
Joseph Banks
Botanist, Age of Enlightenment, President of The Royal Society from 1778-1820
Leif Erikson
Norse explorer of the Vikings, seafarer, landed in Vinland/Winland (Greenland) via Icelandic sagas
970 AD-1020
Ferdinand Magellan
Explorer, navigator, sailed round the world in 1519, discovery of the Straits of Magellan in 1520
1480-1521 (41)
history.com
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant, explorer who found China, India and other Southeast Asian countries in 1272
Olivier van Noort
Traveler, explorer, first Dutchman to circumnavigate the globe
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Explorer of Brazil in 1500, discovered the northeast coast of South America (Brazil) claiming it for Portugal, navigator, military commander, nobleman
1467-1520 (53)
exploration.marinersmuseum.org
Prince Henry the Navigator
Explorer, sailor in West Africa, maritime discoveries for the Portuguese Empire
1394-1460 (66)
Roald Amundsen
Ship explorer to Herschel Island in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, merchant trader, died at the Barents Sea
1872-1928 (56)
Vasco da Gama
Sailor, explorer of coastal Africa, discovery of sea route to India in 1498, rounded Cape of Good Hope and reached Calicut (now Khozikhode)
biography.com
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Explorer of San Diego, Balboa Park is named after him, Panama Canal, Panama-California Exposition
Sir Walter Raleigh
explorer
nps.gov
Willem Barentsz
Navigator, seafarer, explorer who discovered the Murman Sea in the Middle Ages, which is now named the Barents Sea today
William Cormack
Explorer, philanthropist, agriculturalist, said to have discovered the Beothuk natives, author who pushlished is travel diary to Britain in 1824
1796-1868 (72)