The Greatest Explorers in History
Explorers risked the unknown to map new routes and lands, transforming trade, knowledge and the relationships between civilizations.
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Ferdinand Magellan
Explorer · 1480 – 1521
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who, in the service of Spain, led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe, proving the world could be sailed around even though he died midway through the voyage.
- 2 85
Christopher Columbus
Explorer · 1451 – 1506
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who, sailing for Spain in 1492, opened sustained European contact with the Americas — a voyage of immense and deeply controversial consequence.
- 3 84
James Cook
Explorer · 1728 – 1779
James Cook was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer whose three Pacific voyages charted New Zealand, the eastern coast of Australia and many Pacific islands with unprecedented accuracy.
- 4 84
Marco Polo
Explorer · 1254 – 1324
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant and explorer whose travels across Asia to the court of Kublai Khan, recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo, gave medieval Europe its most influential account of the East.
- 5 83
Zheng He
Admiral · 1371 – 1433
Zheng He was a Chinese admiral and explorer of the Ming dynasty who commanded vast treasure fleets on seven voyages across the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as Arabia and East Africa.
- 6 82
Vasco da Gama
Explorer · 1460 – 1524
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who opened the first sea route from Europe to India around the southern tip of Africa, transforming global trade.
- 7 80
Hernán Cortés
Conquistador · 1485 – 1547
Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that overthrew the Aztec Empire, bringing much of Mexico under Spanish rule and inaugurating centuries of colonial domination.