List of explorers

See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography.

Contents: Top – 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Charles Albanel (1616–1696), Canada
• Diego de Almagro
• Pedro de Alvarado
• Roald Amundsen, (1872–1928), Norwegian, first at the South Pole, first to navigate the Northwest Passage in a single ship
• Roy Chapman Andrews, (1884–1960), US explorer

B

• Pierre Savorgan de Brazza Italian explorer naturalized French. French Congo's founder.
• Vasco Núñez de Balboa, (c. 1475-1519), Spanish, first to sight the Pacific Ocean, founded Darién, oldest surviving European settlement in the South American continent.
• William Baffin, (1584-1622)
• Samuel Baker, Africa
• Heinrich Barth (1821-1865), Northern and Central Africa
• Robert Bartlett (1875-1946), greatest Arctic explorer
• Willem Barents, (1550?-1597), Dutch, died on Novaya Zemlya Northeast Passage
• George Bass – Australian explorer
• Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, (1304?-1377?), Moroccan Berber Muslim, visited Mecca several times, travelled to Central Asia, East Africa, China, Tombouctou and other places
• Nicolas Baudin – 18th century French explorer, mapped the West Australian coastline.
• Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer
• Moric Benovsky, Slovak
• Vitus Bering
• Vittorio Bottego (1860,1897), Italian explorer of the Giuba region in north-east Africa
• Saint Brendan – Irish abbot who sailed the Atlantic Ocean
• James Bruce
• William S. Bruce, (1867–1921) Scottish explorer of Antarctica
• Richard Francis Burton, (1821-1890), looking for the source of the Nile, discovered Lake Tanganyika
• Richard E. Byrd, (1888-1957), flew over South Pole

C

• John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), (c. 1450 – 1499), Italian navigator in English service, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to North America
• Pedro Álvares Cabral, (c. 1467-c. 1520), Portuguese navigator, discovered Brazil and Madagascar
• Alvise Cadamosto (1432–1488), Venetian explorer
• Diogo Cão, (15th century), Portuguese navigator, explored the area around the West African coast
• Jacques Cartier, (1491–1557), discovered the St. Lawrence River and sailed up it to Montreal; failed in an attempt to set up a colony
• Thomas Cavendish, (died 1592), English sailor and explorer.
• Samuel de Champlain, (c. 1567–1635), established the French colony in Canada; discovered the Great Lakes
• William Clark, (1770–1838), with Meriwether Lewis led the first American expedition to reach the west coast.
• Christopher Columbus, (1451–1506), reached America looking for a searoute to the Indies; discovered various lands and islands and established a colony on Hispaniola
• James Cook, (1728–1779), explored the Pacific, discovering or mapping many lands and islands
• Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, (c. 1510–1554), explored New Mexico and American southwest
• Hernán Cortés, (1485–1547), conquered the Aztec empire in Mexico; sent out expeditions to Baja California
• Juan de la Cosa
• Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (died 1997), French marine biologist and explorer

D

• Alexandra David-Néel, (1868–1969), French explorer, visited Lhasa, Tibet in 1924
• Harry de Windt Explorer, adventurer and author.
• Semyon Dezhnev, Russian explorer, first European who sailed through Bering Strait
• Bartolomeu Dias, (1450–1500), Portuguese explorer who first rounded the Cape of Good Hope.
• Dinis Dias, Portuguese explorer, first European to reach Cape Verde
• Bernal Díaz del Castillo
• David Douglas, Scottish explorer, botanist
• Sir Francis Drake, (c. 1540–1596), pirate, leader of the second circumnavigation
• Jules Dumont d'Urville, (1790–1842), explorer of the Pacific and Antarctica

E

• Gil Eanes, Portuguese navigator and explorer
• Eric the Red, (c.950–1003), explored and colonized Greenland
• Leifur Eiríksson, (born 970), attempted to colonize Vinland, discovered America
• Juan Sebastián Elcano – completed the first circumnavigation, started by Magellan
• George Everest, (1790–1866)

F

• Edmund Fanning, (1769–1841), "Pathfinder of the Pacific", discoverer of numerous South Pacific islands
• Matthew Flinders, (1774–1814), first to circumnavigate Australia and Tasmania, extensively charted the coastline and named such features as the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Australian Bight.
• Alexander Forbes, Scottish explorer of North American Pacific coast
• John Franklin, (1786–1847), disappeared exploring Arctic Canada in search of the North West Passage
• John C. Fremont, (1813–1890), "Pathfinder of the West" explored the Oregon Trail and the Sierra Nevada, first Republican nominee for President of the United States
• Louis de Freycinet, (1779–1842), explored coastal regions of Western Australia

G

• Alfons Gabriel, (1892–1976) Austrian explorer of the Iranian deserts.
• Yuri Gagarin first man in Space and Cosmonaut
• Juan Galindo (1802–1839) explorer of Central American ruins
• Vasco da Gama, (1469?-1524), Portuguese navigator, first to reach India from Europe by the sea route
• Thomas Gann, explorer
• Francis Garnier, (1839–1873), Mekong River
• Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye, (1685–1749), explorer
• Romolo Gessi ( (1831, 1881)), Italian explorer of the Nile and of Sudan
• Ernest Giles, (1835–1897), explorer of central Australia
• Antão Gonçalves, explored the West African coast and was the first European to take slaves in Africa
• James Augustus Grant, (1827–1892), Scottish officer and explorer, explored the eastern equatorial Africa
• Juan de Grijalva

H

• Hanno the Navigator – Carthageinian who travelled along the coast of Africa
• Hannu, ancient Egyptian explorer (around 2750 BC) and the first explorer of whom there is any knowledge
• Sven Hedin, (1865–1952), Swedish explorer of Central Asia
• Louis Hennepin – discoverer of Niagara Falls and the Saint Anthony Falls (the only waterfall on the Mississippi)
• Bjarni Herjulfsson – Viking, probable discoverer of North America
• Thor Heyerdahl, (1914–2002), Norwegian explorer
• Sir Edmund Hillary, with Tenzing Norgay was the first person to the summit of Mount Everest
• Himilco the Navigator, Carthaginian navigator
• Clement Hodgkinson – (1818–1893) Australian explorer
• William Hovell – Australian explorer
• Henry Hudson, (died 1570), discovered the Hudson River and sailed up it to Albany, discovered Hudson Bay
• Alexander von Humboldt, (1769–1859), German naturalist, explored Central and South America, visited Siberia
• Hamilton Hume – Australian explorer

I

• Helge Ingstad, (1899–2001), Norwegian, Danish explorer, Governor of Greenland
• Ibn Battuta, (1304–1377), Moroccan explorer of Africa and Asia, author of the Rihla
• Ibn Rustah, 10th century Persian explorer of Russia, Scandinavia and Arabia.

J

• Louis Joliet, (1645–1700), central North American wilderness
• Richard Jobson
• Harry Johnston, (1858–1927), Africa, reported the okapi

K

• George Kennan, (1845–1924), Siberia
• Edmund Kennedy, (1818–1848), Australian explorer
• Ferdinand Konščak, (1703–1759), Croatia, California, Mexico

L

• Richard Lemon Lander (1804–1834)
• Jean François La Pérouse, (1741–1788), French explorer of the Pacific
• René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, (1643–1687), French explorer of the Mississippi basin
• Albert von Le Coq, (1860–1930), German explorer of Central Asia
• Miguel López de Legaspi, Spanish explorer of the Philippines and Mexico
• Ludwig Leichhardt, (1813–1848), Prussian explorer of Australia
• Dragutin Lerman, (1863–1918), Croatia, (Congo, Africa)
• Meriwether Lewis, (1774–1809), leader of the first American expedition to cross the continent
• David Livingstone, (1813–1873), Scottish explorer of south and east Africa, determined the course of the Zambesi, discovered Lake Nyasa

M

• Alexander Mackenzie, (1764 – March 11, 1820), Scottish Western and Northern Canada to Arctic and Pacific Oceans
• Ferdinand Magellan, (c. 1470–1521), Portuguese navigator, leader of first expedition around the world and the first European to have sailed the Pacific Ocean
• Teoberto Maler (1840–1917) Maya ruins
• Douglas Mawson – Australian explorer of Antarctica
• Archibald Menzies (1754–1852)
• Álvaro de Mendaña
• Thomas Mitchell – (1792–1855), Scottish explorer of Australia

N

• Fridtjof Nansen, (1861–1930), arctic explorer, scientist and international statesman
• Nehsi, ancient Egyptian explorer in service of Egyptian queen Hatshepsut
• Jean Nicolet, (1628–1642), early French explorer of the Old Northwest
• Joseph Nicollet, (1786–1843), explorer of the Upper Mississippi River and Missouri River
• Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, (1832–1901), arctic explorer
• Tenzing Norgay, with Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to the summit of Mount Everest
• Hugh McNeil, Lewis and Clark Party member
• Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

O

• Francisco de Orellana – first to navigate down the Amazon River
• John Oxley – Australian explorer

P

• Mungo Park (1771–1806), Scottish explorer of Western Equatorial Africa
• William Parry, (1790–1855), Arctic explorer
• Robert Edwin Peary, (1856–1920), first man to reach the North Pole
• Paul Pelliot, French explorer of Central Asia
• Auguste Piccard, (1884–1962), physicist and explorer
• Jacques Piccard, (born 1922), undersea explorer
• Zebulon Pike, (1779–1813), explored Louisiana Purchase, Pikes Peak
• Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, (1494?-1519?)
• Martin Alonzo Pinzón (1441?-1493)
• Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (1460? – after 1523)
• Francisco Pizarro, (1471–1541), conqueror of the Inca Empire
• Peter Pond, (c. 1739 – 1807), Northwest Canada
• Marco Polo, (1254–1323), Venetian Republic, travelled to China in the 13th century
• Gaspar de Portolá (fl. 1734–1784), explored California
• John Wesley Powell, (1834–1902), explorer, environmentalist
• Nicholas Michailovitch Prjevalsky, (1839–1888), Russian explorer in central and eastern Asia
• Nathaniel Pryor, (c. 1785–1850), US explorer
• Pytheas, Greek explorer who visited Britain and other north and northwest European countries

Q

• Pedro Fernandez de Quirós, (1565–1614), Portuguese seaman and explorer, explored the Pacific

R

• John Rae, (1813–1893), travelled widely through the Canadian Arctic
• Walter Raleigh, (1554?-1618), English explorer
• James Clark Ross, (1800–1862), Scottish explorer
• Cândido Rondon, (1865–1958), Explored the Amazon with Teddy Roosevelt

S

• Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa
• René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, (1643–1687) French merchant and explorer, explored Great Lakes, navigated Mississippi and looked for its delta
• Robert Falcon Scott, (1868–1912), reached the South Pole less than one month after Amundsen, but died on the return voyage
• Tibor Sekelj Croatia, South America
• Mirko Seljan (1821–1912?(3)), Croatia,( Ethiopia, South America)
• Stjepan Seljan (1873–1936), Croatia, (Ethiopia, South America)
• Scylax of Caryanda – a Greek explorer sent by the king of Persia to sail down the Indus River and around Arabia to Egypt
• Ernest Shackleton, (1874–1922), attempted to reach the South Pole and went further south than anyone before him
• William Smith (born around 1775), discovered South Shetland Islands
• Hernando de Soto, (died 1542), explorer
• John Hanning Speke, (1827–1864), discovered Lake Victoria
• Henry Morton Stanley, (1841–1904), successfully searched for Livingstone in Africa; later explored Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River
• William Stairs, (1863–1892), Victorian explorer, discovered one source of the Nile River, first non-African to ever climb in the Ruwenzori.
• Marc Aurel Stein, Hungarian explorer of Central Asia
• John Lloyd Stephens (1805–1852) explored Middle East, Central America
• John McDouall Stuart (1815–1866), Scottish explorer of inland Australia
• Charles Sturt – Australian explorer
• Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki, (1793–1873), Polish explorer and geologist
• Ignacije Szentmartony (1718–1793), Croatia (Jesuit, astronomer), Amazon, Brazil

T

• Abel Tasman, (1603–1659), discovered Tasmania and New Zealand
• Yermak Timofeyevich, Russian cossack, explored West Siberia and claimed it for Russia
• Luis Vaez de Torres, Portuguese navigator and explorer
• Nuno Tristão, explored the West African coast
• Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, female explorer of the Middle Ages

V

• George Vancouver, (1757–1798), British Royal Navy captain; explored the Pacific coast of North America, naming many locations in the Pacific Northwest.
• Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (1685–1749), French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer, explored Western Canada
• Giovanni da Verrazano, (died 1528), sea explorer
• Amerigo Vespucci, (1454–1512), discovered other parts of America and gave his name to the new continent
• Ruy López de Villalobos. Spanish; explored the Pacific and the Philippines, which he named after Philip II of Spain
• Willem de Vlamingh (1640-?). Dutch; in 1696 and 1697 he charted the coast of north-west Australia.

W

• Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, (1766–1875), French antiquarian, artist, explorer
• Walker, Thomas (Explorer), medical doctor and early explorer of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains
• Langdon Warner, American explorer of Central Asia
• Harry de Windt Explorer, adventurer and author.

Y

• Sir Francis Younghusband, (1863–1942), India and Tibet

Z

• Zhang Qian – spent 12 years starting in 138 BC exploring much of Central Asia for Emperor Han Wu Di
• Zheng He, (1371–1435), Chinese admiral who travelled widely over the Indian Ocean and other seas, reaching Africa and Arabia and many other countries