Exploration A-Z

Christopher Columbus

In 1492 Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean. His aim was to find a sea route to the rich lands of East Asia—the lands of spices and silks...

Captain James Cook

In 1768 a ship called the Endeavour sailed from England. It was commanded by Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook (1728–1779). The Endeavour was on a scientific voyage, bound...

Vasco da Gama

In the late 15th century, Europeans were keen to find a new sea route to the Far East. They wanted to trade independently with China, Japan and India without having to rely on the...

Ibn Battuta

During the 14th century, the great Muslim explorer Ibn Battuta (1304–1368/9) travelled more than 117,000 kilometres (73,000 miles) through Africa and Asia. His adventures began...

David Livingstone

Scottish missionary David Livingstone (1813–1873) moved to Africa in 1841, hoping to convert the African peoples to Christianity. He explored the interior of southern Africa, and...

Ferdinand Magellan

In 1519 five ships set sail from Spain. They were commanded by Ferdinand Magellan. Although Magellan was born in Portugal, he was in the service of King Charles I of Spain. He...

Robert Peary

American explorer Robert Peary (1856–1920), along with Matthew Henson (1866–1955) and others, made several Arctic expeditions from 1886 onwards. His early journeys gave him...

Marco Polo

Marco Polo’s father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo were Venetian merchants, who had already travelled to Asia before Marco was born. In 1271, they set out from Venice on another...

Ernest Shackleton

A British expedition to cross Antarctica from coast to coast set sail in Endurance from South Georgia, on 5th December 1914. The crew of 27 men was led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, an...

African exploration

During the 18th and 19th centuries European explorers ventured into parts of Africa never before visited by white people. They wanted to learn about the geography and people of...

Australian exploration

Australia has been inhabited by the Aboriginal peoples for 50,000–60,000 years, but Europeans did not sight Australia until 1606. In 1788, Australia's first European settlers...

North American exploration

When Christopher Columbus first made landfall in the Americas in 1492, he believed he had arrived in Asia, not an island in the Caribbean. After it became clear that a new...

South American exploration

Once Europeans had discovered the existence of South America at the end of the 15th century, they set out to explore its coastline and interior. From the 16th century, Spanish and...

Race for the South Pole

Ernest Shackleton was one of the first to make an attempt on the South Pole. But bad weather forced him to turn back only 157 kilometres (97.5 miles) from the Pole in January 1908...

Scott's Antarctic expedition

On 17th January 1912, members of the British Antarctic Expedition or Terra Nova Expedition (Terra Nova means "new land"), led by Captain Robert F. Scott, reached the South Pole...

Conquest of Everest

In 1953 a British and Commonwealth expedition led by Colonel John Hunt set out to climb Mount Everest. Two men reached the South Summit, about two hours' climb from the true...

Challenger expedition

The Challenger expedition of 1872–76 was a round-the-world voyage that made many scientific discoveries about the deep oceans. It would lay the foundations of a new science...

Kon-Tiki expedition

For years, experts had believed that the inhabitants of the Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific Ocean had originally come from Asia. But Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl noticed that...

Round the world journeys

In 1519, a fleet of ships organized by Ferdinand Magellan set off from Spain. In 1522, the last surviving ship of the fleet, captained by Juan Sebastián Elcano, made it home to...