List of explorers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This list of explorers is sorted by surname. See also the links below.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] A

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Antonio de Abreu Portuguese 16th Indonesia
Charles Albanel French 17th Canada
Afonso de Albuquerque Portuguese 16th India
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin American 20th the Moon
Pêro de Alenquer Portuguese 15th African coast
Benedict Allen English 20th/21st various
Diego de Almagro Spanish 16th Peru, Chile
Francisco de Almeida Portuguese 16th India
Pedro de Alvarado Spanish 16th Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras
Francisco Alvarez Portuguese 16th Ethiopia
Jorge Álvares Portuguese 16th China
Roald Amundsen Norwegian early 20th South Pole, Antarctica, Northwest Passage
Fernão Pires de Andrade Portuguese 16th China
Henryk Arctowski Polish 20th Antarctic, South America
Salomon August Andrée Swedish 19th Arctic
Roy Chapman Andrews American 20th China, Mongolia
Neil Armstrong American 20th the Moon
Väinö Auer Finnish 20th Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia
Diogo de Azambuja Portuguese 15th West African coast

[edit] B

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
George Back English 19th Canadian Arctic
William Baffin English 17th Northwest Passage
Samuel Baker English 19th Africa
Vasco Núñez de Balboa Spanish 16th Panama
Pêro de Barcelos Portuguese 15th/16th North America
Willem Barents Dutch 16th Northeast Passage, Novaya Zemlya
Heinrich Barth German 19th Central and northern Africa
Robert Bartlett Canadian early 20th Arctic
George Bass Australian 18th Australia
Nicolas Baudin French 18th Australia
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Russian 19th Antarctica
Joseph René Bellot French 19th Arctic
Móric Beňovský Slovak 18th northern Pacific Ocean
Vitus Bering Danish 18th northern Pacific Ocean
Vittorio Bottego Italian 19th Somalia
Pierre Savorgan de Brazza Italian/French 19th Congo
Saint Brendan Irish 6th Atlantic Ocean
James Bruce Scottish 18th Algeria, the Middle East, Egypt
William S. Bruce Scottish early 20th Antarctica
Lafayette Bunnell American 19th Yosemite Valley
Richard Francis Burton English 19th central Africa
Richard E. Byrd American 20th North Pole, Antarctica

[edit] C

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
John Cabot[1] Italian 15th North American mainland (Canada)
Pedro Álvares Cabral Portuguese 15th/16th Brazil, Madagascar
João Rodrigues Cabrilho Portuguese 16th California
Alvise Cadamosto Italian 15th Cape Verde islands
Alvaro Caminha Portuguese 15th São Tomé and Príncipe islands
Pêro Vaz de Caminha Portuguese 15th Brazil
Diogo Cão Portuguese 15th west coast of Africa (including the Congo River)
Jan Carstensz Dutch 17th New Guinea coast, Gulf of Carpentaria
Jacques Cartier French 16th St. Lawrence River
René-Robert Cavelier French 17th Mississippi embayment
Thomas Cavendish English 16th Virginia, Pacific coast of Central and South America
Samuel de Champlain French 16th/17th Quebec, Great Lakes
Hugh Clapperton Scottish early 19th west and central Africa
William Clark American early 19th western United States
Gonçalo Coelho Portuguese 15th/16th South American coast
Nicolau Coelho Portuguese 15th Brazil
Christopher Columbus[2] Italian 15th/16th Caribbean
Niccolò Da Conti Italian early 15th India, Southeast Asia
Frederick Cook American 19th/20th Arctic
James Cook English 18th Australasia, Oceania
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado Spanish 16th New Mexico
João, Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real Portuguese 15th/16th Newfoundland
Hernán Cortés Spanish 16th Mexico
Juan de la Cosa Spanish 15th/16th Caribbean, South America
Thomas Coulter Irish 19th Mexico, Alta California
Jacques-Yves Cousteau French 20th the deep sea
Pero da Covilhã Portuguese 15th/16th Ethiopia
Tristão da Cunha Portuguese 16th Tristan da Cunha islands

[edit] D

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Alexandra David-Néel French 20th Tibet
Jean-François-Marie de Surville French 18th New Zealand
Semyon Dezhnev Russian 17th area and islands of the Bering Strait
Bartolomeu and Pêro Dias Portuguese 15th Cape of Good Hope
Dinis Dias Portuguese 15th Cap-Vert
Diogo Dias Portuguese 15th Cape Verde islands, Brazil, Madagascar
Bernal Díaz del Castillo Spanish 16th Mexico
David Douglas Scottish 19th Pacific Northwest
Sir Francis Drake English 16th circumnavigation
Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne French 18th Australasia, southern Indian Ocean
Jules Dumont d'Urville French 19th Australasia, Antarctica

[edit] E

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Gil Eanes Portuguese 15th northwest African coast
Juan Sebastián Elcano Spain 16th completed Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation
Erik the Red Viking 10th Greenland
Leif Ericson Viking early 11th Vinland (Newfoundland)
Pedro Escobar Portuguese 15th São Tomé and Príncipe islands
George Everest Welsh 19th India

[edit] F

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Edmund Fanning American 18th/19th Oceania
Sir Ranulph Fiennes English 20th Arctic, Antarctica
António Fernandes Portuguese 15th west African coast
Baltazar Fernandes Portuguese 17th Brazil
Duarte Fernandes Portuguese 16th Thailand
Matthew Flinders English 18th/19th Australia, Tasmania
Alexander Forbes Scottish 19th California
John Franklin English 19th Northwest Passage
John C. Frémont American 19th Oregon Trail, Sierra Nevada
Louis de Freycinet French 19th western Australia, Oceania

[edit] G

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Alfons Gabriel Austrian 20th Iran
Yuri Gagarin Russian 20th Earth orbit
Juan Galindo mixed 19th Mesoamerica (Mayan remains)
Estevão da Gama Portuguese 16th Indian Ocean
Paulo da Gama Portuguese 15th sea route from Europe to India
Vasco da Gama Portuguese 15th/16th sea route from Europe to India
Thomas Gann Irish 19th/20th Mesoamerica (Mayan remains)
Francis Garnier French 19th Mekong River
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes French Canadian 18th North American interior
Romolo Gessi Italian 19th the Nile, Sudan
Ernest Giles Australian 19th central Australia
André Gonçalves Portuguese 15th/16th Brazil
Antão Gonçalves Portuguese 15th west African coast
Lopes Gonçalves Portuguese 15th Atlantic Ocean
James Augustus Grant Scottish 19th eastern Africa
João Grego Portuguese 15th African coast
Juan de Grijalva Spanish 16th Mexico, Nicaragua

[edit] H

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Hanno the Navigator Carthaginian 6th BCE west African coast
Hannu ancient Egyptian (c.2750 BCE) eastern Africa
Dirk Hartog Dutch 17th western Australian coast
Ahmed Hassanein[3] Egyptian 20th Oweinat and the Sahara
Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden American 19th Rocky Mountains and the western United States
Sven Hedin Swedish 19th/20th central Asia
Louis Hennepin Belgian/French 17th North American interior
William Lewis Herndon American 19th Valley of the Amazon
Bjarni Herjulfsson Viking 10th North America
Thor Heyerdahl Norwegian 20th anthropological ocean voyages
Sir Edmund Hillary New Zealand 20th Mount Everest, Antarctica
Himilco the Navigator Carthaginian 6th BCE northwestern coast of Europe
Clement Hodgkinson English 19th New South Wales (Australia)
Hong Bao Chinese 15th South Shetland Islands, South Atlantic
Cornelis de Houtman Dutch 16th sea route from Europe to Indonesia
Frederick de Houtman Dutch 16th/17th western Australian coast
William Hovell English 19th southern New South Wales
Henry Hudson English 17th Northwest Passage, Hudson River and Hudson Bay
Alexander von Humboldt German 19th Latin America, Siberia
Hamilton Hume Australian 19th Australian interior
James S. Hutchinson American 20th Sierra Nevada (US)

[edit] I

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta Moroccan 14th India, China, southeast Asia
Ahmad ibn Rustah Persian 10th Russia, Scandinavia, Arabia
João Infante Portuguese 15th African coast
Helge Ingstad Norwegian 20th Newfoundland, Greenland, Alaska

[edit] K

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Thorfinn Karlsefni Icelandic early 11th Vinland
George Kennan American 19th/20th Russia[4]
Edmund Kennedy British/Australian 19th Australian interior
Ferdinand Konščak Croatian 18th Baja California peninsula
Pyotr Kozlov Russian early 20th Mongolia, Tibet

[edit] L

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Richard Lemon Lander British early 19th west Africa (Niger and Benue Rivers)
Jean-François de Galaup French 18th Pacific Rim
João Fernandes Lavrador Portuguese 15th/16th Labrador
Joseph N. LeConte American 20th Sierra Nevada (US)
Albert von Le Coq German 19th/20th central Asia
John Ledyard American 18th Australasia, Oceania, Russia
Miguel López de Legazpi Spanish 16th Philippines
Ludwig Leichhardt Prussian 19th Australian interior
Gaspar de Lemos Portuguese 15th Brazil
Dragutin Lerman Croatian 19th/20th Congo
Meriwether Lewis American 18th/19th western United States
David Livingstone Scottish 19th southern and eastern Africa

[edit] M

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Alexander Mackenzie Scottish 18th/19th Canada
Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese 15th/16th circumnavigation
Teoberto Maler German-Italian 19th Mesoamerica (Mayan remains)
George Mallory English early 20th Mount Everest
Lancelotto Malocello Italian 13th/14th Lanzarote (Canary Islands)
Lourenço Marques Portuguese 16th Mozambique
Álvaro Martins Portuguese 15th Newfoundland, Cape of Good Hope
Pedro Mascarenhas Portuguese 16th Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia
John Minor Maury American 19th Darién Gap
Douglas Mawson Australian 20th Antarctica
Álvaro de Mendaña Spanish 16th Pacific Ocean
Archibald Menzies Scottish 18th/19th Pacific Ocean, circumnavigation
Thomas Mitchell Scottish 19th Australian interior
John Moresby English 19th New Guinea coast

[edit] N

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Fridtjof Nansen Norwegian 19th/20th Arctic
Nehsi ancient Egyptian 15th BCE Land of Punt
Jean Nicolet French 17th Northwest Territory (United States)
Joseph Nicollet French/American 19th Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
Afanasiy Nikitin Russian 15th India
António Noli Portuguese 15th Cape Verde islands
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld Finnish/Swedish 19th Arctic
Tenzing Norgay Nepalese 20th Mount Everest
Fernão de Noronha Portuguese 15th/16th Atlantic Ocean
João da Nova Portuguese 16th Atlantic and Indian Oceans
Paulo Dias de Novais Portuguese 16th Angola
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Spanish 16th southwestern United States, Mexico, Argentina

[edit] O

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Sebastián de Ocampo Spanish early 16th Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico
Peter Skene Ogden Canadian early 19th Snake River country, western United States
Francisco de Orellana Spanish 16th South America, Amazon River
John Oxley English early 19th Australia[5]

[edit] P

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Mungo Park Scottish 18th/19th west Africa (Niger River)
William Parry English 19th Arctic
Robert Peary American 19th/20th Arctic
Paul Pelliot French 19th/20th central Asia
Duarte Pacheco Pereira Portuguese 15th Atlantic Ocean, Brazil
Bartolomeu Perestrelo Portuguese 15th Madeira Islands
Auguste Piccard Swiss 20th Earth's atmosphere, the deep sea
Jacques Piccard Swiss 20th the deep sea
Zebulon Pike American early 19th southern Louisiana Purchase (United States)
Alonso Alvarez de Pineda Spanish early 16th Gulf Coast
Serpa Pinto Portuguese 19th southern Africa
Fernão Mendes Pinto Portuguese 16th India, Far East, Japan
Martin Alonzo Pinzón Spanish 15th Caribbean
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón Spanish 15th/16th Caribbean, Brazil
Luís Pires Portuguese 15th abortive voyage to Brazil
Francisco Pizarro Spanish 16th Hispaniola, Panama, Peru
Fernão do Pó Portuguese 15th west African coast
Marco Polo Venetian 13th/14th China, Mongol Empire
Peter Pond American 18th/19th Canadian interior
Gaspar de Portolà Spanish 18th Alta and Baja California
John Wesley Powell American 19th western United States
Nathaniel Hale Pryor American 19th western United States
Nikolai Przhevalsky Russian 19th central Asia
Pytheas ancient Greek 4th BCE northern Europe

[edit] Q

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Pedro Fernández de Quirós Portuguese 16th/17th Oceania

[edit] R

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
John Rae Scottish 19th Northwest Passage, Canadian Arctic
Walter Raleigh English 16th/17th Virginia, the Orinoco river
Diogo Rodrigues Portuguese 16th Mascarene Islands
Cândido Rondon Brazilian 19th/20th Brazilian interior (Amazon Basin)
James Clark Ross Scottish 19th Arctic, Antarctic

[edit] S

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Sándor Kőrösi Csoma Hungarian early 19th Tibet
João de Santarém Portuguese 15th São Tomé and Príncipe islands
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa Spanish 16th Solomon Islands
Robert Falcon Scott English 19th/20th Antarctica (South Pole)
Scylax of Caryanda ancient Greek 6th BCE Indus River, Indian Ocean, Red Sea
Tibor Sekelj Croat 20th Argentina
Mirko and Stjepan Seljan Croat early 20th Ethiopia, South America
Ernest Shackleton Anglo-Irish early 20th Antarctica
Eric Shipton English 20th Mount Everest, southern Patagonia
Diogo Silves Portuguese 15th Azores
Pêro de Sintra Portuguese 15th west African coast, Sierra Leone
William Smith English early 19th South Shetland Islands
Hernando de Soto Spanish 16th Central America, southern United States
Martim Afonso de Sousa Portuguese 16th Brazilian interior
John Hanning Speke English 19th eastern Africa
William Grant Stairs Canadian 19th central Africa
Henry Morton Stanley Welsh 19th eastern Africa
Marc Aurel Stein Hungarian/British 19th/20th central Asia
John Lloyd Stephens American 19th Middle East, Mesoamerica (Mayan remains)
Storker Storkersen Norwegian 20th Canadian Arctic
Paweł Strzelecki[6] Polish/British 19th the Americas, Australia (Gippsland)
John McDouall Stuart Scottish/Australian 19th Australian interior
Charles Sturt English 19th Australian interior
Ignacije Szentmartony Croat 18th Amazon River

[edit] T

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Abel Tasman Dutch 17th Australasia, including Tasmania
Pedro Teixeira Portuguese 17th Amazon River
Tristão Vaz Teixeira Portuguese 15th Madeira Islands
Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir Icelandic c.11th North America
Harold William Tilman English 20th Himalayas, Patagonia
Yermak Timofeyevich Russian[7] 16th Siberia
Luis Váez de Torres Portuguese 17th Australasia
Nuno Tristão Portuguese 15th west African coast, Guinea-Bissau

[edit] U

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Andrés de Urdaneta Spanish 16th Manila Galleon route

[edit] V

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
George Vancouver English 18th Pacific coast of North America[8]
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes French Canadian 18th western Canada
Gonçalo Velho Portuguese 15th Azores
Giovanni da Verrazzano Italian early 16th East Coast of the United States
Amerigo Vespucci Italian 15th/16th eastern South American coast, Caribbean
Ruy López de Villalobos Spanish 16th Pacific Ocean, Philippines
Willem de Vlamingh Flemish/Dutch 17th southwest Australian coast

[edit] W

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Jean-Frédéric Waldeck French 19th Mesoamerica (Mayan remains)
Thomas Walker English 18th eastern United States[9]
Langdon Warner American early 20th the Silk Road
Harry de Windt French 19th/20th Eurasia

[edit] Y

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
Sir Francis Younghusband British 19th/20th central Asia

[edit] Z

Name Nationality Century Main area/s explored
João Gonçalves Zarco Portuguese 15th Madeira Islands
Zhang Qian Chinese 2nd BCE central Asia
Zheng He Chinese 15th south/southeast Asia, Middle East, east African coast

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Giovanni Caboto.
  2. ^ Cristoforo Colombo.
  3. ^ Hassanein Bey
  4. ^ Kamchatka, Caucasus, Siberia.
  5. ^ New South Wales, southeastern Queensland.
  6. ^ Sir Paul de Strzelecki.
  7. ^ Cossack.
  8. ^ U.S. Pacific Coast, Pacific Northwest.
  9. ^ Allegheny Mountains, Cumberland Plateau.

[edit] See also

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