Juan Ponce de Leon
Giovanni Da Verrazzano
Marco Polo
Captain James Cook
Lewis and Clark
Alexander the Great
Christopher Columbus
Sir Francis Drake
Daniel Boone
General Exploration Resources
Famous Ancient Explorers (before Columbus)
Pytheas (380 – 310 BC), Greek: first to circumnavigate Great Britain and to explore Germany; reached Shetland Islands or Iceland.
Xu Fu (255 - 200 BC), Chinese: sailed to Japan.
Zhang Qian (2nd century BC), Chinese: imperial envoy to Central Asia who helped establish the Silk Road.
Saint Brendan of Clonfert (484 – 577), Irish: allegedly discovered Iceland and America in the 6th century.
Dicuil (8th century), Irish: the author of the De mensura orbis terrae which contains the earliest clear description of a settlement in Iceland and the freshwater canal between the Nile and the Red Sea.
Ahmad ibn Fadlan (10th century), Arab: provided a description of the Volga Vikings, including an eye-witness account of a ship burial.
Erik the Red (950–1003), Norwegian Viking: after being cast out from Iceland, he sailed to Greenland and settled there.
Leif Ericson (980–1020), Icelandic: believed to have been the first European to land in North America.
Friar Julian (13th century), Hungarian: was the first European traveler who gathered valid information on Asia.
Marco Polo (1254–1324), Venetian: travelled through Central Asia and China and apparently met Kublai Khan (the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire).
Ibn Battuta (1304 - 1368), Muslim Moroccan: visited most of the known Islamic world, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China.
Wang Dayuan (1311–1350), Chinese: sailed along the South China Sea and visited many places like Sri Lanka and India; visited also North Africa and East Africa.
James of Ireland (1316 - 1330), Irish: was the companion of Odoric of Pordenone (an important Italian traveler) on his travels to Sumatra and China.
Odoric of Pordenone (1286 – 1331), Italian: wrote an important account of his visit to China.
Simon FitzSimon (14th century), Irish: author of a itenerum through Egypt and the Holy Land.
Zheng He (1371–1433), Chinese: made seven voyages to Arabia, East Africa, India, Indonesia and Thailand.
Afanasy Nikitin (15th century), Russian: one of the first Europeans to travel to and document his visit to India.
Joao Fernandes Lavrador (1445 – 1501), Portuguese: First European reaching Labrador Peninsula (today eastern Canada) and charted some coasts of Greenland and North America.
John Cabot (1450–1499), Italian: Discovered Newfoundland (a large Canadian island off the east coast of North America) and claimed it for the Kingdom of England.
Bartolomeu Dias (1450–1500), Portuguese: sailed from Portugal and reached the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Peninsula, South Africa.).
Explorers - Elementary/Middle School Level
Explorers of the Millennium Hall of Fame - thinkquest
Notable Explorers - Fact Monster
Explorers - Enchanted Learning
Conquistadors - PBS
Virtual Exploration Society
Explorers Database - ThinkQuest
Explorers of Australia and Nearby Islands - Enchanted Learning
People of the West - PBS
Expolorers Timeline - ThinkQuest
Explorers - Middle/High School Level
Alphabetical List of Explorers - Mulnomach County Library
Discoverers Web
European Explorers - RCN
Explorers Heroes
South-Pole Exploration
Captain Cook Society
Arctic Exploration and History - All Things Arctic
Explorers - High/High+ School Level
Voyages: Scientific Circumnavigations 1679-1859 - An Exhibit of Rare Books from the Linda Hall Library
American Journeys: Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement - Wisconsin Historical Society
American Notes: Travel in America, 1750-1920 - Library of Congress
Explorers and Early Travels - about.com
Mountain Men and the Fur Trade - American Mountain Men
Exploration and Explorers Timelines
Ocean Exploration Timeline
Lunar Exploration Timeline - NASA
Timeline of Explorers - Thinkquest
Explorers' Timeline - Thinkquest
Explorers and Exploration on Stamps and Images
NOAA Photo Library - The Antarctic
South-Pole Exploration Philately
Explorers and Adventurers - Find a Grave
Arctic Explorers: Commemorative Stamps - matthewhenson.com
Captain James Cook Through Stamps
Illustrious Portuguese Navigators - Home Page
Pictures of People and Professions: Explorers - picturehistory.com
Trivia and Humor
Historical Figures: Explorers - Fun Trivia
Explorers' Quiz - SchoolHistory.co.uk
Related Subjects
Space Exploration
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