| Date |
Explorer |
Nationality |
Chief Achievements |
| ca. 982 |
Eric the Red |
Norse |
Sailed to Greenland
from Iceland. |
| ca. 1000 |
Leif Ericson |
Norse |
Probably first European to reach
mainland of North America. |
| 1487-1488 |
Bartolomeu
Dias |
Portuguese |
First European to round Cape of
Good Hope. |
| 1492-1504 |
Christopher Columbus |
Italian |
Made four voyages to West Indies
and Caribbean lands. Sailed under Spanish flag. |
| 1497-1503 |
Amerigo Vespucci |
Italian |
Made several voyages to West
Indies and South America. Sailed under flags of
Spain and Portugal. |
| 1497-1498 |
John Cabot |
Italian |
Voyages across the North
Atlantic to present-day Canadian Maritime
Provinces. Sailed under English flag. |
| 1498 |
Vasco
da Gama |
Portuguese |
First European to reach India by
sea. |
| 1500-1501 |
Pedro Álvares Cabral |
Portuguese |
Reached Brazilian coast and
sailed around Africa to India. |
| 1519-1522 |
Juan Sebastián del Cano |
Spanish |
Completed voyage after
Magellan's death. |
| 1519-1521 |
Ferdinand Magellan |
Portuguese |
Commanded first voyage around
the world. Sailed under Spanish flag. |
| 1524 |
Giovanni da Verrazano |
Italian |
Searched for Northwest
Passage. Sailed under French flag. |
| 1526-1530 |
Sebastian Cabot |
Italian |
Explored South American coast to
the Río de la Plata. Sailed under Spanish flag. |
| 1535 |
Jacques Cartier |
French |
Sailed up the St. Lawrence
River. |
| 1553 |
Sir Hugh Willoughby |
English |
Sought a northeast passage to
Asia. |
| 1576-1578 |
Sir Martin Frobisher |
English |
Searched North American coast
for a Northwest Passage. |
| 1577-1580 |
Sir Francis Drake |
English |
First Englishman to make voyage
around the world. |
| 1596-1597 |
Willem Barents |
Dutch |
Pilot on expedition that reached
Spitsbergen Island. |
| 1602 |
Bartholomew Gosnold |
English |
Explored New England coast;
reached Cape Cod. |
| 1609-1611 |
Henry Hudson |
English |
Explored Hudson Bay, River, and
Strait. Sailed under Dutch flag (1609); for
English merchants (1610-1611). |
| 1616 |
Dirck Hartog |
Dutch |
Explored western coast of
Australia. |
| 1642 |
Abel Janszoon Tasman |
Dutch |
Reached Tasmania and New
Zealand. |
| 1683-1711 |
William Dampier |
English |
Made three voyages around world;
explored coasts of Australia, New Guinea, and New
Britain. |
| 1727-1729; 1740-1741 |
Vitus
Bering |
Danish |
Explored Bering Strait and
coasts of Alaska and northeast Asia. Sailed under
Russian flag. |
| 1766-1769 |
Louis Antoine de Bougainville |
French |
Led first French expedition
around the world. |
| 1768-1779 |
James
Cook |
English |
Made extensive oceanic voyages;
explored South Pacific. |
| 1785-1788 |
Comte de La Pérouse |
French |
Explored Pacific coasts of Asia
and North America; sighted La Pérouse (now Soya)
Strait. |
| 1787-1793 |
Robert Gray |
American |
Led two voyages around world;
entered the Columbia River. |
| 1792 |
George Vancouver |
English |
Sailed around Vancouver Island. |
| 1798 |
George
Bass |
English |
Reached Bass Strait between
Australia and Tasmania; sailed around Tasmania. |
| 1903-1906 |
Roald
Amundsen |
Norwegian |
First to sail through the
Northwest Passage. |
