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Documents for "Explorers, Travelers, and Conquerors: Biographies":
  • Amundsen, Roald (Roald Engelbregt Grauning Amundsen) , 1872-1928, Norwegian polar explorer; the first person to reach the South Pole. He served (1897-99) as first mate on the Belgica (under the Belgian Adrien de Gerlache ) in an expedition to the Antarctic, and he commanded the Gjöa in the Arctic in the first negotiation of the Northwest Passage (1903-6); the Gjöa was the first single ship to complete the route through the Northwest Passage. His account appeared in English as Amundsen's North West Passage (1908). He then purchased Fridtjof Nansen 's Fram and prepared to drift toward the North Pole and then finish the journey by sledge. The news that Robert E. Peary had anticipated him in reaching the North Pole caused Amundsen to consider going south. He was successful in reaching the South Pole on Dec. 14, 1911, after a dash by dog team and skis from the Bay...
  • Andersson, Karl Johan 1827-67, Swedish explorer in Africa. In 1850 he and Francis Galton set out from Walvis Bay (now in Namibia) to explore Damaraland and Ovamboland, but they were able only to reach the Etosha Pan...
  • Andrée, Salomon August 1854-97, Swedish polar explorer. An aeronautical engineer, he was the first to attempt arctic exploration by air. His first attempt by balloon in 1896 was unsuccessful, owing largely to bad...
  • Back, Sir George 1796-1878, British explorer in N Canada. He accompanied Sir John Franklin on arctic expeditions in 1818, 1819-22, and 1824-27. On an expedition (1833-35) to search for the missing John Ross, Back...
  • Badía y Leblich, Domingo 1766-1818, Spanish traveler, known as Ali Bey. Posing as a Muslim, he set out from Cádiz (1803) and traveled through N Africa, Syria, and Arabia, reaching Mecca, of which he fixed the position...
  • Baffin, William c.1584-1622, British arctic explorer. He was pilot on two expeditions (1615-16) sent out to search for the Northwest Passage under command of Robert Bylot, who was formerly with Henry Hudson. The first expedition vainly tried to find a channel in Hudson Bay N of Southampton Island. The second attempt, NW through Davis...
  • Baker, Sir Samuel White 1821-93, English explorer in Africa. He explored the Nile tributaries in Ethiopia in 1861-62. Going up the Nile from Cairo, he reached Gondokoro in 1863. He continued his journey southward in spite...
  • Balboa, Vasco Núñez de c.1475-1519, Spanish conquistador, discoverer of the Pacific Ocean. After sailing with Bastidas in 1501, Balboa probably went to Hispaniola. In 1510, fleeing from creditors, he hid on the vessel that took Enciso to Panama. After reaching Darién , Balboa took command, deposed the incompetent Enciso, and sent him to Spain as a prisoner. Balboa showed only rarely the rapacity and cruelty characteristic of the conquistador. He won the...
  • Balchen, Bernt 1899-1973, Norwegian-American aviator. He headed one of the search expeditions for Amundsen and Ellsworth in 1925 and was a member of their 1926 expedition to the Arctic. Richard E. Byrd, meeting...
  • Barentz, Willem d. 1597, Dutch navigator. He made three voyages (1594, 1595, 1596-97) in search of the Northeast Passage to Asia. He reached Novaya Zemlya on the first two expeditions. On the third he...
  • Barth, Heinrich 1821-65, German explorer in British service. After traveling (1845-47) through the Levant and N Africa, he entered the service of the British government. He joined (1849) an expedition to the W...
  • Beechey, Frederick William 1796-1856, British admiral and Arctic explorer. He accompanied an expedition N of Spitsbergen in 1818 and wrote an account of it in his Voyage of Discovery towards the North Pole (1843). He accompanied W. E. Parry to the Canadian Arctic in 1819, and in 1825-28 he commanded the Blossom in its explorations of the NW Alaska coast and search for the Northwest Passage. On this voyage he reached Point Barrow and explored Hotham inlet. He also surveyed the North African, South...
  • Beke, Charles Tilstone 1800-1874, English explorer and author. In Ethiopia in 1840-43 he mapped c.70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km) of the country, determined the approximate course of the Blue Nile, and compiled...
  • Bellingshausen, Fabian Gottlieb von 1778-1852, Russian explorer, b. Sarema, Estonia. A graduate of the naval academy at Kronstadt, he commanded two ships on an extended voyage (1819-21) during which he circumnavigated Antarctica and...
  • Bering, Vitus Jonassen 1681-1741, Danish explorer in Russian employ. In 1725 he was selected by Peter I to explore far NE Siberia. Having finally moved men and supplies across Siberia, Bering in 1728 sailed N through Bering Strait but sighted no land and did not recognize the importance of the...
  • Block, Adriaen fl. 1610-24, Dutch navigator. Eager to establish a fur trade with the Native Americans, Amsterdam merchants sent (1613) Block and another Dutch navigator to explore the region discovered by Henry...
  • Bonvalot, Pierre Gabriel Édouard 1853-1933, French explorer and author. In 1880-82 he visited central Asia, explored Kohistan, and returned to France by way of Bukhara, the Caspian sea, and the Caucasus. In 1886 he made the first...
  • Borchgrevink, Carsten Egeberg 1864-1934, Norwegian-Australian antarctic explorer. He emigrated to Australia in 1888, and in 1894 he went south in a whaling vessel and at Cape Adare took part in the first landing on the...
  • Borough, Stephen 1525-84, English navigator. Under the direction of Richard Chancellor he was master of the Edward Bonaventure, the first ship to round (1553) North Cape and reach Russia by the arctic route, and...
  • Bougainville, Louis Antoine de 1729-1811, French navigator. He accompanied Montcalm to Canada as aide-de-camp, and he later (c.1764) established a colony on the Falkland Islands but had to surrender the settlement to Spain...
  • Bransfield, Edward 1795-1852, English sea captain and antarctic explorer. In 1820, Bransfield sailed from Chile to the South Shetland Islands off the N Antarctic Peninsula. After claiming King George Island for...
  • Bruce, James 1730-94, Scottish explorer in Africa. He explored Roman ruins in N Africa (1755) from Tunis to Tripoli and visited Crete, Rhodes, and Asia Minor. In 1768 he traveled down the Red Sea as far as the...
  • Bruce, William Speirs 1867-1921, Scottish explorer and authority on the polar regions. He first went to the Antarctic as ship's surgeon in 1892 and later did survey work in Franz Josef Land and oceanographic work in...
  • Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig 1784-1817, European explorer, b. Switzerland, educated in Germany. Supported by an English association for promoting African discovery, he visited Egypt and Syria (1809-13), rediscovered Petra (1812),...
  • Burnes, Sir Alexander 1805-41, British traveler in India. As an army officer in India, he studied Asian languages. In 1832 he left Lahore in Afghan dress and traveled by way of Peshawar and Kabul across the Hindu Kush...
  • Burton, Sir Richard Francis 1821-90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of the Persian, Afghan,...
  • Byron, John 1723-86, British vice admiral and explorer. Sailing in 1740 with Admiral George Anson on a voyage around the world, he was shipwrecked off Chile. His Narrative of Great Distresses on the Shores of Patagonia...
  • Cabot, John fl. 1461-98, English explorer, probably b. Genoa, Italy. He became a citizen of Venice in 1476 and engaged in the Eastern trade of that city. This experience, it is assumed, was the stimulus of his...
  • Cabot, Sebastian b. 1483-86?, d. 1557, explorer in English and Spanish service; son of John Cabot. He may well have accompanied his father on the 1497 and 1498 voyages, and he was for many years given the credit for his father's achievements. In the 19th cent., scholars, finding discrepancies...
  • Cabral, Pedro Alvares c.1467-c.1520, Portuguese navigator. A friend of Vasco da Gama, in 1500 he was sent out by Manuel I as head of a fleet destined for India. Bartolomeu Dias was one of his officers. Cabral went far west of his course and reached the coast of Brazil, which he claimed for Portugal. Proceeding onward, he reached Madagascar, Mozambique, and the Indian...
  • Cadamosto, Luigi da 1432?-1488, Venetian navigator in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal. He seems to have entered Portuguese service in 1454, and he left a record of a voyage in 1455 that is...
  • Cagliostro, Alessandro, Conte di 1743-95, Italian adventurer, magician, and alchemist, whose real name was Giuseppe Balsamo. After early misadventures in Italy he traveled in Greece, Arabia, Persia, and Egypt. While in Italy, he...
  • Caillié, René 1799-1838, French explorer in Africa. He was the first European to visit Timbuktu and return. The son of poor French peasants, he was obsessed with the idea of seeing Timbuktu. After 11 years of...
  • Cameron, Verney Lovett kăm´eren , 1844-94, English traveler in Africa. A naval officer, he served (1868) in the British expedition against Ethiopia and assisted in the suppression of the East African slave trade. He was sent...
  • Cano, Juan Sebastián del c.1476-1526, Spanish navigator, the first to circumnavigate the globe. Under Magellan he commanded the Concepción and after Magellan's death in the Philippines took command of the expedition....
  • Cavendish, Thomas 1560-92, English navigator. He commanded a ship in the flotilla under Sir Richard Grenville sent (1585) by Sir Walter Raleigh to establish the first colony in Virginia. In 1586, in command of three...
  • Chancellor, Richard d. 1556, English navigator. When, largely under the inspiration of Sebastian Cabot , a group of men in England undertook to finance a search for the Northeast Passage to Asia, Chancellor was chosen as second in command under Sir Hugh Willoughby. They sailed in 1553, and Chancellor...
  • Charcot, Jean Baptiste 1867-1936, French neurologist and explorer in the antarctic region; son of Jean Martin Charcot. He became (1896) director of clinics at the Univ. of Paris but soon gave up medicine for...
  • Chesney, Francis Rawdon 1789-1872, British soldier and explorer in Asia. His examination of a route for the Suez Canal (1829) demonstrated the feasibility of building a canal and led the vicomte de Lesseps to undertake the project. In 1835, Chesney commanded an expedition to survey N Syria. He proved the navigability of the Tigris and Euphrates and urged the adoption of a Euphrates route to India. In...
  • Clapperton, Hugh 1788-1827, British explorer, b. Annan, Scotland. After serving with the British navy in East India and Canada he made two journeys to W Africa. On the initial journey (1822-25) he was one of the...
  • Columbus, Christopher Ital. Cristoforo Colombo , Span. Cristóbal Colón , 1451-1506, European explorer, b. Genoa, Italy.
  • Cook, James 1728-79, English explorer and navigator. The son of a Yorkshire agricultural laborer, he had little formal education. After an apprenticeship to a firm of shipowners at Whitby, he joined (1755) the...
  • Cortés, Hernán or Hernando Cortez , 1485-1547, Spanish conquistador , conqueror of Mexico.
  • Corte Real, Gaspar c.1450-1501?, Portuguese explorer. Sent by King Manuel I to search for the Northwest Passage, he is said to have discovered Greenland in 1500 and may have touched on the North American coast. He...
  • Cunha, Tristão da c.1460-1514?, Portuguese navigator. His most important voyage was undertaken in 1506, when he set out with 15 ships for India. He discovered three volcanic islands in the S Atlantic, one of which...
  • Dampier, William 1651-1715, English explorer, buccaneer, hydrographer, and naturalist. He fought (1673) in the Dutch War, managed a plantation in Jamaica (1674), and then worked with logwood cutters in Honduras...
  • Davis, John 1550?-1605, English navigator. He made his first voyage in search of the Northwest Passage in 1585, continuing the work of Martin Frobisher. On this voyage he discovered Cumberland Sound of Baffin Island and made explorations that prepared the way for his later voyages in 1586 and 1587. On the third exploration he sailed through Davis...
  • Dias, Bartolomeu d. 1500, Portuguese navigator. He was the first European to round (1488) the Cape of Good Hope, which he called Cabo Tormentoso [cape of storms]. That voyage opened the road to India. Dias...
  • Drake, Sir Francis 1540?-1596, English navigator and admiral, first Englishman to circumnavigate the world (1577-80).
  • Drygalski, Erich von 1865-1949, German polar explorer. A professor of geography at the Univ. of Munich, he led an expedition that wintered (1892-93) in W Greenland. From 1901 to 1903 he led the German antarctic...
  • Du Chaillu, Paul Belloni c.1831-1903, French-American explorer in Africa. Born probably in Paris, he spent his youth on the west coast of Africa, where his father was a trader in Gabon. There he learned the native...
  • Dumont d'Urville, Jules Sébastien César 1790-1842, French navigator. While on duty (1819-20) in the E Mediterranean, he saw and recognized the importance of the newly discovered Venus of Milo and was influential in having the Louvre...
  • Emin Pasha 1840-92, German explorer, whose original name was Eduard Schnitzer. A physician, he served (1876-78) under Gen. Charles Gordon in Sudan as a district medical officer. In 1878 he succeeded Gordon...
  • Entrecasteaux, Joseph Antoine Bruni d' 1739-93, French navigator. He entered the French navy in 1754, fought (1756) at Minorca, commanded (1786) the French fleet of the East Indies, and was appointed governor of Mauritius and the Isle...
  • Eric the Red fl. 10th cent., Norse chieftain, discoverer and colonizer of Greenland. He left (c.950) Norway with his exiled father and settled in Iceland. A feud resulting in manslaughter led to his banishment...
  • Filchner, Wilhelm 1877-1957, German explorer, geophysicist, and travel writer. He led several expeditions to China and Tibet, where he established magnetic stations, and also led the second German Antarctic...
  • Fox, Luke 1586-1635, English explorer. As a master mariner, he set forth in 1631 to hunt for the Northwest Passage. He explored the southern shore of Hudson Bay, satisfied himself that there was no passage through it, and when scurvy struck his crew returned that same year to England. His Northwest Fox; or, Fox from the North-West Passage was published in 1635 (ed. by R. M. Christy, 1894). He gave many names to geographical features that are still used today; Foxe Basin and Foxe Peninsula were named after him. At about the time that...
  • Franklin, Sir John 1786-1847, British explorer in N Canada whose disappearance caused a widespread search of the Arctic. Entering the navy in 1801, he fought in the battle of Trafalgar. On his first overland...
  • Freycinet, Louis Claude Desaulses de 1779-1842, French marine officer. He was assigned (1800) to a French exploring expedition in Australian waters; after his return to Paris (1805) he edited the maps and reports of the journey. In...
  • Frobisher, Sir Martin 1535?-1594, English mariner. He went to sea as a boy, and spent much of his youth in the African trade. He later gained the friendship of Sir Humphrey Gilbert , through whom he became interested in the Northwest Passage. Licensed by Queen Elizabeth I and backed by a group of merchant adventurers, Frobisher made three voyages (1576, 1577, and 1578) to the Arctic in search of the passage. On his first voyage he sailed into Frobisher Bay to S Baffin Island, and from its shores brought back some black ore thought to contain gold and an Eskimo to prove his...