Explorers
Those who went first into the unknown.
records written
Modern era
Albert I of Belgium
April 8, 1875 – February 17, 1934
King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934 (1875–1934)
Modern era
Ulysses S. Grant
April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885
President of the United States from 1869 to 1877
Modern era
Theodore Roosevelt
October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919
26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909 (1858–1919)
Modern era
Charles Darwin
February 12, 1809 – April 19, 1882
Naturalist whose theory of evolution by natural selection transformed biology
Modern era
Werner Heisenberg
December 5, 1901 – February 1, 1976
German theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner (1901–1976)
Early Modern era
Alexander von Humboldt
September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859
Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer (1769–1859)
Modern era
Alfred Russel Wallace
January 8, 1823 – November 7, 1913
British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist (1823–1913)
Modern era
Orville Wright
Co-inventor of powered flight with his brother Wilbur
Medieval era
Leif Erikson
972 CE – 1020
Norse explorer (c. 970 – c. 1020)
Medieval era
Marco Polo
September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324
Venetian merchant whose travels opened European eyes to Asia
Medieval era
Ibn Battuta
February 24, 1304 – 1368
Moroccan explorer who traveled 120,000 km across the medieval world
Medieval era
Zheng He
1371 – 1433
Chinese mariner, explorer, and diplomat
Early Modern era
Christopher Columbus
1450 – May 19, 1506
Genoese navigator whose Atlantic crossings joined two worlds
Medieval era
Vasco da Gama
1469 – December 24, 1524
Portuguese explorer (c. 1460s – 1524)
Early Modern era
Ferdinand Magellan
1480 – April 27, 1521
Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circled the globe
Medieval era
Amerigo Vespucci
March 9, 1454 – February 22, 1512
Florentine explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer
Medieval era
Jacques Cartier
December 31, 1491 – September 24, 1557
Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)
Early Modern era
Samuel de Champlain
August 13, 1567 – December 25, 1635
16/17th-century French explorer of North America
Early Modern era
Henry Hudson
b. 1565
English explorer b1565
Medieval era
Hernan Cortes
1485 – December 2, 1547
Spanish conquistador
Medieval era
Francisco Pizarro
March 16, 1478 – June 26, 1541
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire
Medieval era
Juan Ponce de Leon
April 8, 1460 – 1521
Spanish explorer and conquistador
Early Modern era
Francis Drake
July 13, 1540 – January 28, 1596
English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)
Early Modern era
Walter Raleigh
January 22, 1552 – October 29, 1618
English statesman, soldier and writer (1552–1618)
Early Modern era
James Cook
October 27, 1728 – February 14, 1779
British explorer, cartographer and naval officer (1728–1779)
Early Modern era
Meriwether Lewis
August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809
American explorer (1774-1809)
Early Modern era
William Clark
August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838
American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor (1770-1838)
Early Modern era
Sacagawea
May 16, 1788 – December 12, 1812
Native American woman & companion to Lewis and Clark at age 16
Early Modern era
Daniel Boone
November 2, 1734 – September 26, 1820
American pioneer and frontiersman (1734–1820)
Early Modern era
Davy Crockett
August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836
American frontiersman and politician (1786–1836)
Modern era
John Muir
April 21, 1838 – December 24, 1914
Scottish-American naturalist (1838–1914)
Modern era
David Livingstone
March 19, 1813 – May 1, 1873
Scottish missionary and explorer (1813-1873)
Modern era
Henry Morton Stanley
January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904
British journalist and explorer (1841–1904)
Modern era
Richard Francis Burton
March 19, 1821 – October 20, 1890
British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar (1821–1890)
Modern era
Ernest Shackleton
February 15, 1874 – January 5, 1922
Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874–1922)
Modern era
Roald Amundsen
July 16, 1872 – June 18, 1928
Norwegian explorer; first person to reach the South Pole (1872–1928)
Modern era
Robert Falcon Scott
June 6, 1868 – March 29, 1912
Royal Navy officer and explorer (1868–1912)
Modern era
Fridtjof Nansen
October 10, 1861 – May 13, 1930
Norwegian polar explorer and diplomat; Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1861-1930)
Modern era
Robert Peary
May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920
Explorer from the United States (1856–1920)
Modern era
Matthew Henson
August 8, 1866 – March 9, 1955
American explorer (1866–1955)
Modern era
Edmund Hillary
July 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008
New Zealand mountaineer and philanthropist (1919–2008)
Modern era
Tenzing Norgay
May 29, 1914 – May 9, 1986
Nepalese Indian Sherpa mountaineer (1914-1986)
Modern era
Amelia Earhart
July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939
Aviation pioneer, first woman to fly the Atlantic solo
Modern era
Chuck Yeager
February 13, 1923 – December 7, 2020
American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound (1923–2020)
Modern era
Jacques Cousteau
June 11, 1910 – June 25, 1997
French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author (1910-1997)
Modern era
Thor Heyerdahl
October 6, 1914 – April 18, 2002
Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer (1914-2002)
Contemporary era
Yuri Gagarin
March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968
First human in space aboard Vostok 1
Modern era
Valentina Tereshkova
b. March 6, 1937
Russian cosmonaut and pilot, first woman to have flown in space (born 1937)
Modern era
Alan Shepard
November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998
American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923–1998)
Contemporary era
Neil Armstrong
August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012
First human being to walk on the Moon
Modern era
Buzz Aldrin
b. January 20, 1930
American astronaut (born 1930)
Contemporary era
Sally Ride
May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012
American astronaut and physicist (1951–2012)
Contemporary era
Mae Jemison
b. October 17, 1956
American doctor and NASA astronaut
Contemporary era
Jeff Bezos
b. January 12, 1964
American business magnate (born 1964)
Contemporary era
Samina Baig
b. September 19, 1990
Athlete / Mountaineer
Modern era
Amir Mehdi
1930 – 1999
Pakistani mountaineer and porter
Contemporary era
Ali Sadpara
February 2, 1976 – February 5, 2021
Pakistani mountaineer
Contemporary era
Hassan Sadpara
April 3, 1963 – November 21, 2016
Pakistani mountaineer (1963-2016)
Contemporary era
Nazir Sabir
b. December 10, 1955
Pakistani mountain climber
Modern era
Ashraf Aman
b. January 15, 1938
Pakistani mountain climber