Explorers through history
The atlas holds 14 people and 619 moments here, from 1254 to 2012. The most recorded lives are Charles Darwin, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong. Across the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.
Notable people
Charles Darwin
from 1809 to 1882
110 moments here
English naturalist, geologist, and biologist whose observations during the global voyage of HMS Beagle and subsequent research led to his theory of…
Christopher Columbus
from 1451 to 1506
73 moments here
Genoese navigator who completed four Castilian-sponsored Atlantic expeditions between 1492 and 1504.…
Neil Armstrong
from 1930 to 2012
20 moments here
American naval aviator, research test pilot, NASA astronaut, aerospace administrator, and professor.…
Marco Polo
from 1254 to 1324
25 moments here
Venetian merchant, traveler, and author whose account describes journeys across Asia between 1271 and 1295.…
Yuri Gagarin
from 1934 to 1968
27 moments here
Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space and to orbit Earth on Vostok 1 on 12 April…
Ferdinand Magellan
from 1505 to 1521
21 moments here
Portuguese navigator and naval officer who served Portugal in the Indian Ocean, Malacca, and Morocco before relocating to Spain in 1517.…
Theodore Roosevelt
from 1858 to 1919
33 moments here
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1858–1919) was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909.…
James Cook
from 1728 to 1779
35 moments here
British naval officer, hydrographer and explorer whose surveys of Newfoundland and three Pacific voyages transformed European geographic knowledge of…
Vasco da Gama
from 1460 to 1524
36 moments here
Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman whose voyages connected Portugal and India by sea around southern Africa.…
Hernán Cortés
from 1485 to 1547
30 moments here
Spanish conquistador, commander, explorer, governor, and writer whose 1519–1521 campaign against the Aztec Empire helped establish Spanish rule in…
Ibn Battuta
from 1304 to 1369
113 moments here
Maghrebi Muslim jurist, traveller, explorer, and author from Tangier. Between 1325 and 1354 he journeyed through North and East Africa, the Middle…
Petrarch
from 1304 to 1374
38 moments here
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) was an Italian scholar, poet, cleric, diplomat, and foundational humanist.…
Jacques Cartier
from 1491 to 1557
22 moments here
French navigator and explorer from Saint-Malo whose three Atlantic voyages of 1534, 1535–1536, and 1541–1542 surveyed the Gulf and River of Saint…
Zheng He
from 1371 to 1433
36 moments here
Zheng He (born Ma He) was a Ming Chinese admiral and diplomat who commanded seven state-sponsored voyages across the South China Sea and Indian…
Moments
- 1269 Meets his returning father in Venice Marco Polo
- 1305 Childhood at Incisa Petrarch
- 1325 Enters Tunis Ibn Battuta
- 1381 Captured during the Ming conquest of Yunnan Zheng He
- 1470 Family relocates to Savona Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Mission in the Algarve Vasco da Gama
- 1504 Arrival in Santo Domingo Hernán Cortés
- 1509 Battle of Diu Ferdinand Magellan
- 1534 Presentation to Francis I Jacques Cartier
- 1758 Present at surrender of Louisbourg James Cook
- 1813 Family holiday at Abergele Charles Darwin
- 1876 Entered Harvard University Theodore Roosevelt
- 1941 German occupation of family home Yuri Gagarin
- 1955 NACA research pilot at Lewis Neil Armstrong