221 Great Explorers of the World

Florence Baker was born on 6th August 1841 in Hungary and she died on 11th March 1916 (aged 75 years) in Devon, England. Along with Samuel Baker she launched an expedition to find the source of the Nile and found Lake Albert. She saved the expedition by solving the dispute that rose between Samuel Baker […]

Sir Samuel White Baker was born on 8th June 1821 in London, England, and he died on 30th December 1893 (aged 72 years) in Devon, England. Sir Samuel Baker is known to have found the source of the Nile and explored the Nile tributaries around Sudan and the Ethiopian border. He found the source of

Harriet Chalmers Adams was born on 22th October 1875, Stockton, California, US and she died on 17th July 1937 (aged 62 years) in Nice, France. Harriet was an American explorer, writer and photographer. She made a three-year journey through Central and South America. She travelled 40,000 miles, visiting every country, and reaching many points previously

William Alison ‘Bill’ Anders was born on 17th October 1933 in British Hong Kong and he is now retired from fighter pilot, Major General, USAFR and settled in the US. A former Airforce officer, nuclear engineer and astronaut, William is one of the first people to have orbited the moon. He held various positions in

Buzz Aldrin or Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr was born on 20th January 1930 and he is now retired today. An engineer and astronaut, Edwin is known for being the second man to step on the moon following Neil Armstrong. He was an Airforce pilot and was selected by NASA for the Gemini mission in 1969.

Peter Minuit was born in 1580 in Wesel, Germany, and he died on 5th August 1638 (aged 58 years) in Saint Christopher, West Indies. Peter Minuit is known for ‘purchasing’ Manhattan from a native–American tribe in 1626. He was named the director of the New Netherland colony in 1626 which stretches from the present day

Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, was born in 950 in Norway and he died in 1000 (aged 50 years) in Norway. Erik the Red was a settler and explorer and a viking known to have founded the first continuous settlement in Greenland, Erik was exiled from Iceland twice and moved to Greenland. He

Sir Walter Raleigh was born in 1552 in Devon, England, and he died on 29th October 1618 (aged 66 years) in London, England. Sir Walter was an explorer, soldier and writer of much note during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He established a colony near Roanoke Island, now North Carolina. He was also famous

Ernest Shackleton was born on 15th February 1874 in Kilkea, Ireland, and he died on 5th January 1922 (aged 48 years) in South Georgia. A merchant Navy officer, Ernest led three British expeditions to the Antarctic region. During his second expedition his team established a new record by reaching 97 geographical miles from the South

Gertrude Bell was born on 14th July 1868 in Washington Hall, England, and she died on 12th July 1926 (aged 58 years) in Baghdad, Iraq. A British traveller, archaeologist and political officer Gertrude explored and mapped her extensive travels through Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Arabia. Gertrude was also known as Britain’s Queen of the

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta was born on 25th February 1304 in Tangier, Morocco, and he died in 1369  (aged 65 years) in Morocco. One of the greatest medieval Muslim travellers and authors of one of the most famous travel books entitled ‘Rihlah’, his work describes his travels covering some 75,000 miles in trips to

Yuri Gagarin was born on 9th March 1934 in Klushino, Soviet Union, and he died on 27th March 1968 (aged 34 years) in Kirzhach, Russia. Yuri was the first human to journey into outer space when his spacecraft ‘Vostok’ completed an orbit of the Earth on 12th April 1961. He was a pilot with the

Tenzing Norgay was born on 29th May 1914 in Khumbu, Solukhumbu District, Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal and he died on 9th May 1986 (aged 72 years) in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. The first man along with Edmund Hillary to have climbed Mount Everest, Tenzing was a Nepalese mountaineer of Tibetian descent who worked as a porter.

Sir Edmund Hillary was born on 20th July 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand, and passed away on 11th January 2008 (aged 88-89 years) in Auckland, New Zealand. The first person to climb Mount Everest, along with Tenzing Norgay, they stayed there only a few minutes as the air was so thin. He summited several other

Roald Amundsen was born on 16th July 1872 in Borge, Norway, and he died on 18th June 1928 (aged 56 years), Bear Island, Norway. Roald was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions and he was the  leader of the Antarctic expedition of 1910–12. The first man to visit the South Pole, Roald had originally decided