Some Well known Explorers.
 
Name First Names Lived Nationality Area Explored
 
Burke Robert O'Hara 1820 - 1861 Irish Crossed Australia from south to north.
 
Cook James 1728 - 1779 British Sailed right round New Zealand; landed at point on Australia which he named New South Wales; first to cross the Antarctic Circle; discovered New Caledonia Norfolk Island, Cook or Hervey Islands and South Georgia; explored Easter Island, the Marqesas and the Tonga Islands; rediscovered Sandwich Islands. (Hawaii); surveyed both sides of the Bering Strait.
 
Dampier William 1652 - 1715 English Sailed round Cape of Good Hope to Australia; landed at Shark Bay on west coast; explored as far as Dampier Archipelago.
 
Flinders Matthew 1774 - 1814 English Explored entire south coast of Australia from Cape Leeuwin to Bass Strait; charted east coast of Australia and Gulf of Carpentaria.
 
Forrest John 1847 - 1918 Australian Led coastal expedition from Perth to Adelaide.
 
Stewart John McDouall 1815 - 1856 Scottish First to reach centre of Australia.
 
Sturt Charles 1795 - 1869 English Explored river syatems of south-eastern Australia; discovered Darling River.
 
Tasman Abel Janszoon 1603 - 1659 Dutch Discovered Tasmania and New Zealand; explored northern coast of Australia.
 
Baffin William 1584? - 1622 English Searched for North-West Passage and gave his name to Baffin Island and Baffin Bay.
 
Balboa Vasco Numez de 1475 - 1519 Spanish Crossed Isthmus of Panama; first European to reach eastern shore of the Pacific.
 
Bering Vilus Jonassen 1681 - 1741 Danish Pioneered Russian Arctic exploration; discovered Bering Strait and Alaska.
 
Cabot John 1450 - 1498 Genoese Discovered North American mainland; reached Greenland which he named Labrador.
 
Cabot Sebastian 1474 - 1557 Venetian Explored Brazilian coast and the Rio de la Plata region of South America.
 
Cabral Pedro Alvares 1467 - 1519 Portuguese Discovered Brazil; also found island of Madagascar on voyage round Cape of Good Hope to India.
 
Cartier Jacques 1491 - 1557 French Discovered St Lawrence River and Bay; explored Canadian coast as far as Montreal.
 
Columbus Christopher 1451 - 1506 Italian Discovered America and opened up the New World for Europeans; made several expeditions to the West Indies.
 
Cortes Hernando 1485 - 1547 Spanish Explored and conquered Mexico; founded settlement on Veracruz; also explored parts of California.
 
Drake Sir Francis 1540 - 1596 English Sailed westwards right round the world; discovered Tearra del Fuego to be an island not a continent as previously thought; landed at California; crossed the Pacific and rounded Cape of Good Hope.
 
Hudson Henry   ?? - 1611 English Rediscovered Hudson Bay, Strait, and River, which were named after him; searched for the North-West Passage and reached Spitzburgen and Greenland.
 
Franklin Sir John 1786 - 1847 English Surveyed thousands of miles of Arctic America; explored basins of Saskatchewan, Coppermine and MacKenzie Rivers.
 
La Salle Robert Cavelier sieur de 1643 - 1687 French Explored the Mississippi. Was the first person to sail all the way down to its mouth. He claimed the entire valley for France.
 
Lewis Meriwether 1774 - 1809 American Along with William Clark, explored much of the western half of the United States. They travelled up the Missouri for nearly 2,000 miles, crossed the Rockies and reached the Pacific.
 
Clark William 1770 - 1838 American See Meriwether Lewis.
 
Magellan Ferdinand 1480 - 1521 Portuguese Led voyage around the world; discovered the strait that links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across the tip of South America which is now named after him; Crossed the Pacific to the Philippines.
 
Nansen Fridtjof 1861 - 1930 Norwegian Led two north-polar expeditions; crossed Greenland from east to west for the first time; made first crossing on skis of the Greenland ice-cap.
 
Nordenskiold Adolf Eric 1832 - 1901 Finnish-Swedish First man to sail through the North-West Passage; penetrated far onto inland ice of west Greenland.
 
Orellana Francisco de 1511 - 1546 Spanish First explorer of the Amazon River which he named, reached Atlantic coast.
 
Peary Robert Edwin 1856 - 1920 American First man to reach the North Pole; crossed Greenland by sledge; proved Greenland is an island.
 
Soto Hernando de 1496? - 1542? Spanish Widely explored south-eastern part of United States; discovered the Mississippi River.
 
Vespucci Amerigo 1454 - 1512 Florentine Claimed to have discovered America, which was named after him (this proved to be untrue); voyaged several times to the New World, and thoroughly explored north-west coast of South America.
 
Amundsen Roald 1872 - 1928 Norwegian Discovered the South Pole; also led expedition in Arctic through North-West Passage; flew in airship across the North Pole.
 
Byrd Richard Evelyn 1888 - 1957 American Led several expeditions to Antarctica; also explored Arctic; first man to fly over both the North and South Poles.
 
Scott Robert Falcon 1869 - 1912 British Explored Antarctica and pioneered a route to the South Pole.
 
Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry 1874 - 1922 British Pioneered route up the Beardmore Glacier to the South Pole; led several Antarctic expeditions.
 
Da Gama Vasco 1469 - 1524 Portuguese First man to sail round Cape of Good Hope to India; arrived at Calicut; explored Malabar coast as far a Cochin; visited part of Africa which he namre Natal; founded Portuguese colony at Mozambique in Africa.
 
Polo Marco 1254? - 1324? Venetian Took part in one of the longest land voyages of the Middle Ages; crossed Persia, western Asia, and the Gobi Desert to Peking; also travelled extensively in the eastern Mediterranian and visited Constantinople (Istambul); journeyed in both China and India.
 
Baker Sir Samuel 1821 - 1893 English Explored African interior; discovered and named Lake Albert Nyanza.
 
Bruce James 1730 - 1794 Scottish Discovered source of the Blue Nile in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia).
 
Burton Sir Richard Francis 1821 - 1890 British Explored source of the Nile; discovered Lake Tanganyika; explored Gold Coast; in America, crossed the Andes from both directions, canoed down Sao Francisco River, explored Rio de la Plata and the Amazon; also made pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina.
Clapperton Hugh 1788 - 1827 Scottish First European to explore Northern and Central Africa; crossed River Niger.
 
Diaz Bartholomew 1457 - 1500 Portuguese Explored west cost of Africa and discovered Cape of Good Hope.
 
Lander Richard Lemon 1804 - 1834 British Discovered Benue River; found source of the Nile and delta of the Niger.
 
Livingstone David 1813 - 1873 Scottish First white man to travel the length of Lake Tanganyika; discovered Victoria Falls on the Zambezi; explored unknown Central Africa.
 
Park Mungo 1771 - 1794 Scottish Explored African interior; discovered the River Niger.
 
Speke John Hanning 1827 - 1864 English Found Nile source, discovered and named Lake Victoria; first European to visit Uganda; marked exit of Nile from lake by naming Ripon Falls.
 
Stanley Sir Henry Mortom 1841 - 1904 Welsh Led expedition to African interior to search for David Livingstone; explored explored Lake Tanganyika; traced Congo River from source to mouth; founded Congo Free State.
 

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