callings of the archive
Explorer Biographies
Every archived life recorded as explorer, ordered by their place in the ledger.
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
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)
Medieval era
Leif Erikson
972 CE – 1020
Norse explorer (c. 970 – c. 1020)
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
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
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)
Early Modern era
Xu Xiake
1586 – March 8, 1641
Chinese geographer and traveller
Early Modern era
Evliya Celebi
March 25, 1611 – 1682
Turkish traveler and writer (1611–1682)
Ancient era
Brendan the Navigator
486 CE – 577 CE
Irish monastic saint
Medieval era
Ingolfr Arnarson
848 CE – 910 CE
Viking settler of Iceland
Medieval era
Aud the Deep-Minded
834 CE – 900 CE
9th-century Icelandic settler
Medieval era
Benjamin of Tudela
1130 – 1174
Jewish explorer and writer
Medieval era
Martin Behaim
October 6, 1459 – July 29, 1507
German navigator and geographer to the King of Portugal (1459–1507)
Medieval era
Egil Skallagrimsson
910 CE – 990 CE
Viking Age poet, warrior and farmer
Medieval era
Freydis Eiriksdottir
b. 980 CE
Daughter of Erik the Red
Medieval era
Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir
c. 1000 – c. 1100
Icelandic explorer
Ancient era
Hanno the Navigator
c. 499 BCE – c. 401 BCE
5th century BC Carthaginian explorer
Modern era
Nain Singh Rawat
October 21, 1830 – February 1, 1882
Pundit who explored the Himalayas for the British
Modern era
Kinthup
1849 – 1915
Indian explorer (1800s)
Early Modern era
Francis Xavier
April 7, 1506 – December 3, 1552
Spanish Catholic saint and missionary (1506–1552)
Medieval era
Xuanzang
602 CE – 664 CE
7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar (602–664)
Medieval era
Harald Hardrada
1015 – September 25, 1066
King of Norway from 1046 to 1066
Medieval era
Erik the Red
950 CE – 1003
Explorer and founder of the first viking settlement in Greenland
Medieval era
Bartolomeu Dias
1450 – May 29, 1500
Portuguese explorer
Medieval era
Pedro Alvares Cabral
1467 – 1520
Portuguese military commander and explorer (c.1467/8 – c.1521)
Medieval era
Juan Sebastian Elcano
November 30, 1476 – August 4, 1526
Castillian Basque sailor, explorer, and circumnavigator with the Magellan Expedition
Medieval era
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
1475 – January 12, 1519
Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador