List of maritime explorers
de:seefahrer
The era of European sea explorations began in the late 15th century and lasted for a little more than three full centuries.
This is a list of notable sea explorers:
- Louis Antoine de Bougainville, first French circumnavigator
- Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, the second person to circumnavigate Antarctica
- John Byron
- John Cabot
- Sebastian Cabot
- Jacques Cartier
- Thomas Cavendish
- Samuel de Champlain
- Didrik Pining, discovered America 20 years before Columbus
- Christopher Columbus, (re)discovered America
- James Cook, explorer of the Pacific Ocean and polar regions
- William Dampier
- John Davis
- Bartolomeu Dias
- Francis Drake
- Leif Ericson, a Norse viking discovered America some 500 years before Columbus, calling part of it Vinland
- Martin Frobisher
- Vasco da Gama
- Humfry Gilbert
- Henry Hudson
- Ferdinand Magellan, performed the first voyage of circumnavigation
- Jacob Le Maire
- Alvaro de Mendaņa
- Binot Paulmyer
- Pedro Fernandez de Quiros
- Willem Schouten
- Abel Tasman, discoverer of Tasmania and New Zealand
- Luis Vaez de Torres
- George Vancouver
- Giovanni da Verrazano
- Amerigo Vespucci, discovered other parts of America and gave his name to the new continent
- Samuel Wallis, discoverer of Tahiti
- Zheng He explored much of Asia and Africa.
See also polar explorers and land explorers, explorers.