List of explorers

The following list shows explorers who made regions known to the general public through their research expeditions or were the first to reach them, with which they had a lasting influence on the further course of history. The list does not claim to be complete.

For example, the trips of Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama made European expansion possible, even if the areas they reached were already settled. Neil Armstrong was the first person to reach the moon, but it is well known.

The list is - if available - arranged alphabetically by surname. The entries are in the form

• [[First name, last name | Last name, first name]] (year of birth - year of death), origin, profession and information about the discovery (s)

See also: Researcher Astronaut Discovery Tour List of Africa explorers List of South Seas explorers List of European explorers of Australia List of biographies Conquistador Voortrekker List of first ascents

Contents 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.

• Abalakow, Evgeni Michailowitsch (1907–1948), Soviet Union, first to climb the Ismoil Somoni peak
• Abreu, de António (1480–?), Portugal, discoverer of Timor and the Banda Islands
• Adams, William (1564–1620), England, first Englishman to discover Japan in 1600
• Africanus, Leo (1490–1550), Maure, Sahara, Sudan
• Aguirre, Lope de (1510–1561), Spain, conquistador in South America, El Dorado, Orinoco
• Alarcón, Hernando de (16th century), Spain, navigators in the Pacific, Baja California
• Almagro, Diego de (1475–1538), Spain, Conquistador
• Albuquerque, Alfonso de (1453–1515), Portugal, seafarer, second governor of India
• Almeida, Francisco de (1450–1510), Portugal, African and Indian coasts, Mozambique
• Alvarado, Gonzalo de (16th century), Spain, conquistador, founder of San Salvador
• Alvarado, Hernando de (16th century), Spain, conquistador North America, discovered the pecos
• Alvarado, Pedro de (around 1486–1541), Spain, conquistador Mexico, companion of Cortez
• Álvarez, Gonçalo (15th and 16th centuries), Portugal, discovered Gough (Diego Alvarez) in 1505
• Álvares, Francisco (1465–1540), Portugal, Ethiopia
• Amundsen, Roald (1872–1928), Norway, first person at the South Pole
• Anderson, William (1921–2007), USA, was the first to cross under the North Pole
• Andrée, Salomon (1854–1897), Sweden, attempted balloon flight to the North Pole
• Andrews, Roy Chapman (1884–1960), USA, Gobi Desert, Mongolia
• Ango, Jehan (1480 / 81–1551), France, discoverer of Brazil and Sumatra
• Anjou, Pyotr Fjodorowitsch (1796–1869), Russia, New Siberian Islands
• Arctowski, Henryk (1871–1958), Poland, Antarctica
• Arellano, Alonso de Spain, first west-east crossing of the Pacific
• Armstrong, Neil (1930–2012), USA, first man on the moon
• Arsenjew, Vladimir (1872–1930), Russia, explored the Far East of Russia (Ussuri region)
• Auer, Väinö (1895–1981), Finland, Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia
• Aufschnaiter, Peter (1899–1973), Austria, Tibet, Nepal
• Avilés, Pedro de Menendez de (1519–1574), Spain, founder of St. Augustine and first governor of Florida
• Ayala, Juan de (1745–1797), Spain, California, developed the San Francisco Bay
• Azambuja, Diogo de (1432–1518), Portugal, West Africa
• Azara, Félix de (1746–1821), Spain, La Plata countries

B.

• Back, George (1796–1878), Great Britain, Arctic
• Baer, ​​Karl Ernst von (1792–1876), Russia, Finland
• Baffin, William (1584–1622), England, Navigator (Arctic)
• Baker, Samuel White (1821-1893), England, traveler to Africa
• Balboa, Vasco Núñez de (1475–1519), Spain, crossed the Isthmus of Panama and was the first European to see the Pacific
• Baldaia, Afonso Gonçalves (15th century), Portugal, explored the west coast of Africa to about 22 ° 3 'north latitude
• Balmat, Jacques (1762–1834), Savoy, first to climb Mont Blanc
• Barents, Willem (1550? –1597), Holland, Novaya Zemlya in search of the Northeast Passage
• Barth, Heinrich (1821–1865), Germany, Africa explorer
• Bartlett, Robert (1875–1946), Canada, Arctic
• Bary, Erwin von (1846–1877), Germany, Sahara researcher
• Bass, George (1763–1803), Great Britain, circled Tasmania (Bass Strait)
• Bates, Henry Walter (1825–1892), Great Britain, Amazon region
• Battuta, Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn (1304? –1377?), Morocco, traveler to East Asia
• Baudin, Nicolas (1754–1803), France, discoverer of the Western Australian coastal route
• Baumann, Oskar (1864–1899), Austria, Africa explorer
• Becknell, William (1790–1832), USA, discoverer of the Santa Fé Trail
• Beebe, Charles William (1877–1962), USA, deep-sea explorer
• Beechey, Frederick William (1796-1856), Great Britain, Polar Regions
• Beke, Charles Tilstone (1800–1874), Great Britain, Ethiopia
• Belalcázar, Sebastián de (or Benalcázar), (around 1479–1551), Spain, conquistador and treasure hunter (El Dorado)
• Belcher, Edward (1799–1877), Great Britain, polar explorer.
• Bellingshausen, Fabian Gottlieb von (1778–1852), Russia, researcher
• Bellot, Joseph-René (1826-1853), France, polar explorer (Canadian-Arctic Archipelago)
• Beltrame, Giovanni (1824–1906), Italy, traveler to Africa
• Beltrami, Giacomo (1779–1855), Italy, explorer, search for the source of the Mississippi
• Belzoni, Giovanni Battista (1778–1823), Italy, pioneer of Egyptology
• Bénard de La Harpe, Jean-Baptiste (1683–1765), (France), Louisiana
• Bendeleben, Ottfried von (1836–1908), explored the Seward Peninsula in Alaska
• Benjowski, Moritz (1741/46? –1786), Hungary (Slovak), explorer, North Pacific, western Alaska and the eastern coastline of Asia
• Bering, Vitus (1681–1741), Denmark, sea traveler
• Berlanga, Tomás de (1487? –1551), Spain, discoverer of the Galapagos Islands
• Béthencourt, Jean de (1362–1425), France, conqueror of the Canary Islands
• Beurmann, Karl Moritz von (1835–1863), Germany, Africa explorer
• Bilimek, Dominik (1813–1884), Austria-Hungary, central highlands of Mexico
• Binger, Louis-Gustave (1856–1936), France, Upper Volta
• Bingham, Hiram (1875–1956), Hawaii, discoverer of Machu Picchu
• Biscoe, John (1794–1843), England, Antarctica
• Blaxland, Gregory (1778-1853), expedition over the Blue Mountains, Australia
• Blériot, Louis (1872–1936), France, first flight over the English Channel
• Bligh, William (1754–1817), Great Britain, discoverer of the Bounty Islands, some Fiji Islands and parts of the New Hebrides
• Bodega y Quadra, Juan Francisco de la (1743–1794), Spain, Pacific Northwest
• Boone, Daniel (1734-1820), United States, Frontiersman in Kentucky and Tennessee
• Borchgrevink, Carsten Egeberg (1864–1934), Norway, South Pole explorer
• Bottego, Vittorio (1860–1897), Italy, Jubaland (Somalia)
• Bougainville, Louis Antoine de (1729–1811), France, seafarer and circumnavigator
• Bouvet, Charles (1705–1786), France, South Atlantic
• Bowers, Henry (1883–1912), Great Britain, Antarctica
• Bransfield, Edward (1785-1852), Irish, Naval Officer, Antarctica
• Brazza, Peter (1852–1905), Belgium, Africa explorer (Congo)
• Brendan (484-577), Irish abbot, traveled the Atlantic
• Bridger, James (1804–1881), United States, discoverer of the Great Salt Lake
• Brito Capello, Hernandogildo Augusto de (1841–1917), Portugal, Africa explorer
• Browne, William George (1768–1813), Great Britain, discovered the Ammon Oasis (Siwa)
• Bruce, James (1730–1794), Great Britain, Egypt and Ethiopia
• Bruce, William Speirs (1867–1921), Scotland, Antarctica
• Brûlé, Étienne (1592–1633), France, Quebec
• Brunner, Thomas (1821–1874), Great Britain, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island
• Brun-Rollet, Antoine (1810–1858), France, Africa explorer
• Brussiliow, Georgi Lwowitsch (1884–1914), Russia, Arctic
• Buchner, Max (1846–1921), German Empire, explorer
• Bunge, Alexander (1803–1890), Russia, Russian Far East, China
• Bunnell, Lafayette (1824-1903), USA, Yosemite Valley
• Burckhardt, Jean Louis (1784–1817), Switzerland, traveler to the Orient
• Burke, Robert O'Hara (1821–1861), Ireland, first south-north crossing of Australia
• Burn-Murdoch, William Gordon (1862–1939), Great Britain, Antarctica
• Burton, Richard Francis (1821–1890), Great Britain, examined the sources of the Nile, discovered Lake Tanganyika
• Büttner, Oskar Alexander (1858–1927), Germany, Congo Basin
• Button, Thomas (? –1634), England, Canadian Arctic
• Bylot, Robert (17th century), England, Canadian Arctic
• Byrd, Richard E. (1888–1957), USA, Arctic, Antarctic
• Byron, John (1723–1786), Great Britain, South Seas explorer

C.

• Caboto, Giovanni (around 1450–1498), Italy, seafarer on behalf of the English, sailed the Atlantic to North America
• Caboto, Sebastian (1472–1557), Italy, navigator, sailed the North Atlantic to Labrador and the South Atlantic to La Plata
• Cabral, Pedro Álvares (about 1467 – about 1520), Portugal, discovered Brazil and Madagascar
• Cabrilho, João Rodrigues (? –1543), Portugal, California
• Cadamosto, Alvise (1432–1488), Italy, discovered three of the Cape Verde Islands in the service of the Portuguese
• Cagni, Umberto (1863–1932), Italy, polar explorer, Franz Joseph Land, Alaska
• Cailliaud, Frederic (1787–1869), France, African explorer
• Caillié, René (1799–1838), France, Africa explorer
• Cambier, Ernest François (1844–1909), Belgium, Africa explorer and builder of the first railway in the Congo
• Cameron Verney Lovett (1844–1894), Great Britain, Lake Tanganyika, Congo
• Caminha, Pêro Vaz de (1455–1500), Portugal, Cabral's companion on the discovery of Brazil
• Cano, Juan Sebastian del (1476–1526), ​​Spain, completed the first circumnavigation of the world begun by Magellan
• Cão, Diogo (? –1486), Portugal, explored the west coast of Africa
• Capello, Hermenogildo Augusto de Brito (1841–1917), Portugal, crossed Africa from Angola to the east coast
• Cárdenas, García López de (16th century), Spain, discoverer of the Grand Canyon
• Carpini, Giovanni Piano (1185–1252), Italy, traveled to Mongolia in the 13th century
• Carstenszoon, Jan (17th century), Netherlands, New Guinea Coast and Gulf of Carpentaria
• Carter, Howard (1874–1939), Great Britain, discoverer of Tutenchamons Tomb
• Carteret, Philipp (1733–1796), England, navigator in the South Seas, discoverer of Pitcairn
• Cartier, Jacques (1491–1557), France, discovered the Saint Lawrence River and sailed to Montréal
• Carver, Jonathan (1710-1780), United States, Mississippi
• Casement, Roger (1864-1916), Ireland, Congo
• Castelnau, Francis de la Porte (1802–1880), France, explorer, North and South America
• Castilla, Gabriel de (1577–1620), Spain, Southern Ocean
• Cavendish, Thomas (1555–1592), England, sailor and explorer.
• Cecchi, Antonio (1849–1896), Italy, Abyssinia
• Chabarow, Jerofei Pawlowitsch (around 1610 – after 1667), Russia, exploration and colonization of the Russian Far East
• Chaillé-Long, Charles (1842–1917), USA, South Sudan, East Africa
• Chamisso, Adelbert von (1781–1838), France, Polynesia, Hawaii, Alaska
• Champlain, Samuel de (about 1567–1635), France, founded the colony in Canada
• Chang-Ch'ien (2nd century BC), China, was the first to travel the main route of the Silk Road
• Changchun (1148–1227), China, Central Asia, Mongolia
• Chanykow, Nikolai Wladimirowitsch (1819–1878), Russia, traveled to Persia and Afghanistan
• Charcot, Jean-Baptiste (1867–1936), France, polar explorer
• Chaschchasch, ibn Said ibn Aswad (9th century), Caliphate of Cordoba, hypothetical discoverer of America
• Chavanne, Joseph (1846–1902), Austria, Mexico, West Indies, Sahara
• Cherrie, George (1865–1948), USA, South and Central America
• Cherry-Garrard, Apsley (1886–1959), Great Britain, Antarctica
• Chun, Carl (1852–1914), Germany, Deep Sea
• Catlin, George (1796–1872), United States, Midwestern United States
• Clapperton, Hugh (1788-1827), United Kingdom, Niger
• Claraz, Georges (1832–1930), Switzerland, Argentina (Buenos Aires, Pampas, Patagonia)
• Clark, George Rogers (1752-1818), USA, pioneer v. a. in Kentucky
• Clark, William (1770–1838), USA, led the Lewis and Clark expedition with Meriwether Lewis
• Clavering, Douglas Charles (1794–1827), Great Britain, Polar Region
• Clerke, Charles (1741–1779), Great Britain, Cook's companion, South Pacific, Northwest Passage
• Colter, John (around 1750-1813) discovered what is now Yellowstone National Park
• Comber, Thomas (1852–1887), Great Britain, Cameroon and Congo
• Conti, Niccolo di (around 1395–1469), Venice, explorer to India and China.
• Cook, Frederick (1865–1940), USA, polar explorer, said to be the first person at the North Pole
• Cook, James (1728–1779), Great Britain, explored the Pacific
• Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de (around 1510–1554), Spain, explored New Mexico and the Southwest of America
• Corte-Real, Gaspar (~ 1450–1501), Portugal, Greenland, potential discoverer of Labrador and Newfoundland
• Corte-Real, João Vaz (? –1496), Portugal, potential discoverer of America (Newfoundland)
• Corte-Real, Miguel (1448–1502), Portugal, potential discoverer of Massachusetts
• Cortés, Hernán (1485–1547), Spain, conquered the Aztec Empire, sent expeditions to Baja California
• Cosa, Juán de la (1459–1510), Spain, Caribbean, Central America
• Cousin, Jean (15th century), France, Azores, hypothetical discoverer of America
• Cousteau, Jacques-Yves (1910–1997), France, marine biologist and researcher
• Covilhã, Pedro de (1450–1530), Portugal, Orient, Ethiopia
• Crampel, Paul (1864-1891), France, Aquatorial Africa
• Crean, Thomas (1877–1938), Ireland, Antarctica
• Crevaux, Jules (1847–1882), France, explored Guyana and Suriname
• Csoma, Sándor Kőrösi (1784–1842), Hungary, India, Tibet
• Cunha, da Tristão (1460–1540), Portugal, discoverer Tristan da Cunhas

D.

• Da Cunha, Tristão (around 1460–1540), Portugal, Portuguese admiral, discovered 3 volcanic islands in the South Atlantic, one of which was named after him
• Dallmann, Eduard (1830–1896), Germany, toured Siberia, New Guinea and the Antarctic
• Dampier, William (1651–1715), Great Britain, privateer, hydrographer, explorer
• Dattan, Adolph (1854–1924), Germany / Russia, ethnological collections from the Russian Far East
• David-Néel, Alexandra (1868–1969), France, travel writer and researcher, toured Tibet
• Dávila, Pedro Arias (around 1440–1531), Spain, Central America
• Davis, John (1550–1605), England, navigator and explorer of the Falkland Islands, Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait
• Davis, John (1784–?), England, seal hunter and first person to set foot on the Antarctic continent
• Davis, Nathan (1812–1882), Great Britain, Tunisia
• David, Tannatt William Edgeworth (1858–1934), Great Britain, Antarctic explorer, first to climb Mt. Erebus
• Blankets, Karl Klaus von der (1833–1865), Germany, Africa explorer
• Deceour, Henri Alexis (1855–1900), France, African explorer
• De Haven, Edwin Jesse (1816–1865), USA, Arctic explorer
• Delcommune, Alexandre (1855–1922), Belgium, Africa explorer
• DeLong, George W. (1844–1881), United States, North Pole traveler
• Denham, Dixon (1786–1828), Great Britain, western central Africa
• Deschnjow, Semjon (around 1605–1673), Russia, explorer, was the first European to cross the Bering Strait
• Dias, Dinis (15th century), sailed to the Cape Verde Islands and discovered the Terra dos Guineus.
• Dias, Diogo (1450–1500), brother of Bartolomeu Diaz; sees Madagascar first
• Diaz, Bartolomeu (1450–1500), Portugal, explorer was the first to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope
• Diaz, Melchior (1500–1541), Spaniard, Conquistador, Southwest North America
• Dixon, George (1755–1800), Great Britain, Navigator in North American Waters
• Donner, Kai (1888–1935), Finland, Siberia
• Douglas, David (1799–1834), Scotland, Pacific Northwest of what is now USA
• Drake, Francis (c.1540–1596), England, pirate, leader of the second circumnavigation
• Drasche-Wartinberg, Richard von (1850–1923), Austria, Indian Ocean (Reunion, Mauritius, Luzon) and East Asia (Philippines)
• Drygalski, Erich von (1865–1949), Germany, Antarctica
• Du Petit-Thouars, Abel Aubert (1793–1864), France, Marquesas
• Dupetit-Thouars, Aristide Aubert (1760–1798), France, Marmara Sea, Ionian Islands, Aegean Sea
• Duveyrier, Henri (1840-1892), France, Sahara
• Dyhrenfurth, Günter (1886–1975), Switzerland, Himalaya

E.

• Eanes, Gil (first half of the 15th century), Portugal, was the first to go over Cape Bojador and return
• Eberhardt, Isabelle (1877–1904), Switzerland, traveled to North Africa disguised as a man
• Eckener, Hugo (1868–1954), Germany, numerous zeppelin trips
• Ehinger, Ambrosius (before 1500–1533), Germany, conquistador, first governor of Little Venice, founder of Maracaibo
• Elcano, Juan Sebastián (1476–1526), ​​Spain, completed Magellan's circumnavigation
• Elias, Ney (1844–1897), England, Central, East, and Southeast Asia
• Ellsworth, Lincoln (1880–1951), USA, Polar Regions
• Entrecasteaux, Joseph Bruny d ' (1737–1793), France, looked for Lapérouse and explored parts of Papua New Guinea
• Erik the Red (around 950-1003), Norway, explored and colonized Greenland
• Eriksson, Leif (around 970-around 1020), Norway, colonized Vinland, discovered America
• Escayrac de Lauture, Stanislas von (1826–1868), France; Africa, China
• Eschscholtz, Johann Friedrich (1793–1831); World tour with the Rusrik expedition
• Estevanico (? –1539), Moor from North Africa, was the first African to cross North America
• Eudoxus (2nd century BC), Greek, rediscoverer of the sea route from Egypt to India
• Evans, John (1770-1799), Wales, North America
• Everest, George (1790–1866), Great Britain, engineer, surveying in India and the Himalayas
• Eyre, Edward John (1815–1901), Australia, Australia (including Lake Eyre)

F.

• Falkenstein, Julius (1842–1917), Germany, Africa explorer
• Fanning, Edmund (1769–1841), USA, South Pacific
• Farman, Henri (1874–1958), France, first night flight, first passenger flight in Europe
• Favenc, Ernest (1845–1908), Great Britain, Australia
• Faxian (337-422), China, India
• Federmann, Nikolaus (1506–1542), Germany, expeditions into the interior of Venezuela and Colombia
• Fedchenko, Alexei Pavlovich (1844–1873), Russia, Central Asia
• Fernandes, António (15th century), Portugal, West African coast
• Fernández, Juan (1536–1604), Spain, West Coast of South America, discoverer of the Juan Fernández Islands
• Filchner, Wilhelm (1877–1957), Germany, Tibet and South Polar Expeditions
• Fischer, Gustav Adolf (1848–1886), Germany, Africa explorer
• FitzRoy, Robert (1805–1865), Great Britain, South America (Captain of the HMS Beagle)
• Flegel, Robert (1852–1886), Germany, Africa explorer
• Flinders, Matthew (1774–1814), Great Britain, first circumnavigated Australia and Tasmania
• Folger, Mayhew (1774-1828), United States, Rediscover Pitcairn
• Forbes, Henry Ogg (1851–1932), English traveler to the Indonesian archipelago and New Guinea
• Forrest, Alexander (1849–1901), Australia, Explorations of Western Australia
• Forrest, John (1847–1918), Australia, first west-east crossing of Australia
• Forster, Georg (1754–1794), Germany, Cook's companion on his circumnavigation
• Forster, Johann Reinhold (1729–1798), Germany, Volga, South Pacific
• Foster, Henry (1796-1831), Great Britain, polar explorer
• Foucauld, Charles de (1858–1916), France, Maghreb
• Foxe, Luke (1586-1635), United Kingdom, Hudson-Bay
• Francois, Curt von (1852–1931), Luxembourg, South West Africa
• Francqui, Lucien (1863–1935), Belgium, Africa explorer (Congo)
• Franklin, John (1786–1847), Great Britain, much of the Northwest Territories of Canada
• Fraser, Simon (1776–1862), Canada, explored large parts of British Columbia
• Frémont, John Charles (1813–1890), explored the Oregon Trail and the Sierra Nevada (USA)
• Freycinet, Louis de (1779–1842), France, explored the coastal region of Western Australia
• Friedrichsthal, Emanuel von (1809–1842), Austria, pioneer of the photo expedition, Central America
• Frobisher, Martin (1535–1594), England, discovered the Frobisher Bay named after him
• Fuchs, Vivian Ernest (1908–1999), England, first Antarctic crossing from the Weddel to the Ross Sea

G

• Gabriel, Alfons (1894–1976), Austria, explored the deserts of Iran and Afghanistan
• Gagarin, Juri (1934–1968), Soviet Union, first person in space
• Galindo, Juan (1802–1839), explorer of the Central American ruins
• Gama, Paulo da (? –1499), Portugal, companion and brother of Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India
• Gama, Vasco da (1469? –1524), Portugal, discovered India by sea
• Gann, Thomas (1867–1938), United Kingdom, Mayan Ruins
• García de Nodal, Bartolomé (1574–1622), discoverer of the Diego Ramirez Islands
• Garnier, Francis (1839–1873), France, Mekong
• Gedenschtrom, Matvei (1780–1845), Russia, Northern Siberia
• Gerlache de Gomery, Adrien de (1866–1934), Belgium, Antarctica
• Gessi, Romolo (1831–1881), Italy, toured the area of ​​the White Nile
• Gilbert, Humphrey (1537–1583), England, founded the first English colony in Newfoundland
• Gibson, Alfred (? –1874), Australia, Gibson Desert
• Giles, Ernest (1835–1897), Great Britain, Central Australia
• Glidden, Charles Jasper (1857–1927), USA, first circumnavigation of the world in an automobile
• Gmelin, Johann Georg (1709–1755), Germany, Siberia
• Goës, Benedikt (1562–1607), Portugal, travels in China
• Goiti, Martín de (–1574), Spain, Conqueror of Manila, Philippines
• Golownin, Wassili Michailowitsch (1776–1831), Russia, Pacific
• Gómez, Esteban (1483–1538), Portugal, North America, Magellan's companion
• Gonçalves, André (15th or 16th century), Portugal, Brazil
• Gonçalves, Antão (15th century), Portugal, was the first European slave trader to penetrate West Africa
• Gonçalves, Lopes (15th century), Portugal, discoverer of Cap Lopez and first European known by name in the southern hemisphere
• Gore, John (1730–1790), Great Britain, Cook's companion in the South Seas, Hebrides
• Götzen, Gustav Adolf von (1866–1910), Germany, Rwanda
• Gould, John (1804-1881), Great Britain, South Australia
• Grandidier, Alfred (1836–1921), France, explored Madagascar and discovered fossil remains of the legendary giant bird
• Grant, James Augustus (1827-1892), Scotland, East Africa
• Grauer, Rudolf (1870–1927), Austria, Congo
• Gravenreuth, Karl von (1858-1891), Germany, Cameroon
• Greely, Adolphus (1844-1935), United States, Ellesmere Island
• Gregory, Augustus (1819–1905), Inland Exploration of Australia
• Gregory, John Walter (1864–1932), Scotland, expeditions in America, Australia and East Africa (Great Rift Valley)
• Grenfell, George (1849–1906), England, Congo
• Grijalva, Juan de (1490–1527), Spain, discoverer of the Yucatán and the Aztecs
• Grogan, Ewart (1874–1967), England, on foot from Cape Town to Cairo, East Africa, Kenya
• Grove, Florence Crauford (1838–1902), Great Britain, first to climb Elbrus
• Grünwedel, Albert (1856–1935), Germany, Central Asia
• Gunnbjoern (around 900), explorer of Greenland
• Guzmán, Nuño Beltrán de (1490? –1544), Conquistador, Northeast Mexico
• Güßfeldt, Paul (1840–1920), Germany, West Africa, Andes

H

• Haast, Julius von (1822–1887), Germany, research in New Zealand
• Hall, Charles Francis (1821–1871), USA, North Polar Expeditions to the Canadian Arctic
• Hanno (around 500 BC), Carthage, traveled the west coast of Africa
• Hatton, Frank (1861-1883), England, British North Borneo
• Henenu (around 2000 BC), Egypt, traveled the Red Sea, discovered the land of Punt
• Hargraves, Edward Hammond (1816-1891), English discoverer of the gold fields in Australia
• Harkhuf (around 2300 BC), Egyptians toured the land of Yam
• Harrer, Heinrich (1912–2006), Austria, first ascent of the Eiger north face, numerous research trips
• Hartog, Dirk (1580–1621), Netherlands, Navigator, Western Australia
• Hass, Hans (1919–2013), Austria, numerous underwater expeditions
• Hawkins, Richard (1561–1622), England, navigator
• Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer (1829-1887), United States, Rocky Mountains
• Hayes, Isaac Israel (1832–1881), USA, polar explorer, Nares Strait
• Hayward, George W. (1839–1870), Great Britain, Central Asia
• Heaphy, Charles (1820–1881), Great Britain, West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand
• Hearne, Samuel (1745–1792), Great Britain, Central Canada to the Polar Sea
• Hector, James Scotland (1834–1907), Rocky Mountains
• Hedin, Sven (1865–1952), Sweden, Central Asia
• Hein, Wilhelm (1861–1903), Austria, orientalist, v. a. in Yemen
• Henry the Navigator (1394–1460)
• Helbig, Karl (1903–1991), Germany, research trips to Sumatra, Borneo and Mexico
• Helmreichen zu Brunnfeld, Virgil von (1805-1852), Austria, crossing the South American continent
• Hennepin, Louis (1640 – around 1700), Belgium, discoverers of Niagara Falls and St. Anthony Falls
• Henson, Matthew (1886–1955), USA, first person at the North Pole
• Herbert, Wally (1934–2007), England, first North Pole crossing from Alaska to Spitsbergen
• Herjúlfsson, Bjarni (* around 966), Norway, possible discoverer of North America
• Hernández de Córdoba, Francisco († 1517), Spain, Yucatán
• Hernández de Córdoba, Francisco (approx. 1475–1526), ​​conquistador and founder of Nicaragua
• Herndon, William Lewis (1813-1857), USA, Amazonia
• Herodotus (484? -424? BC), Greece, Persia and Egypt
• Hesse-Wartegg, Ernst von (1851–1918), Austria, world traveler
• Heuglin, Theodor von (1824–1876), Germany, Africa and polar explorer
• Heyerdahl, Thor (1914-2002), Norway, researcher
• Hezeta, Bruno de (1743–1807), Spain, Pacific Northwest
• Hillary, Edmund (1919–2008), New Zealand, first person on Mount Everest, third person on the South Pole
• Himilkon (around 480 BC), Carthage, navigator
• Hoadley, Charles (1887–1947), Australia, Antarctica
• Hoces, Francisco de (? –1526), ​​Spain, southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, Drakestrasse
• Hocheder, Johann Carl (1800–1864), Austria, Brazil
• Hochstetter, Ferdinand von (1829–1884), Austria, New Zealand
• Hodgkinson, Clement (1818-1893), Great Britain, New South Wales
• Höhnel, Ludwig von (1857–1942), Austrian explorer of Africa
• Hojeda, Alonso de (c. 1470–1515), Caribbean
• Holub, Emil (1847–1902), Austria, Southern Africa
• Hornemann, Friedrich Konrad (1772–1801), Germany, explored the caravan route from Cairo to Libya, Haussa states
• Houtman, Cornelis de (1565–1599), Netherlands, Spice Islands
• Houtman, Frederick de (1571–1627), Netherlands, West Coast of Australia, astronomer
• Hovell, William (1786–1875), Great Britain, Australia
• Huc, Evariste (1813–1860), France, crossed Mongolia and Tibet
• Hudson, Henry (ca.1565 – ca.1611), England, Explorers, Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Albany
• Hügel, Carl von (1796–1870), Austria, Asian researcher
• Humboldt, Alexander von (1769–1859), Germany, explored Central America and South America, Siberia
• Hume, Hamilton (1797–1873), Australia, found the overland route from Sydney to Melbourne
• Hutchinson, James Sather (1867–1959), USA, first to climb numerous peaks of the Sierra Nevada
• Hutchinson, Thomas Joseph (1820–1885), Great Britain, African explorer
• Hutten, Philipp von (1505–1546), Germany, Venezuela

I.

• Ibn Battuta (1304–1377), Morocco, long journeys through North Africa and Arabia
• Ibn Fadlān, Ahmad (10th century), Iraq, Kievan Rus, Volga
• Ibn Rustah, Ahmad (10th century), Persia, Russia, Scandinavia, Arabia
• Iden-Zeller, Oskar (1879–1925), Germany, Siberia
• Indicopleustes, Kosmas (6th century), Greek navigator, Black Sea, Arabia, East Africa and South India
• Inglefield, Edward Augustus (1820-1894), British admiral and polar explorer, Ellesmere Island
• Ingraham, Joseph (1762-1800), United States, Marquesas
• Ingstad, Helge (1899–2001), Norwegian-Danish researcher, Governor of Greenland
• Irvine, Andrew (1902–1924), Great Britain, hypothetical first-time climber of Mt. Everest
• Isachsen, Gunnerius (1868–1939), Norway, polar explorer, Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Svalbard
• Ivens, Roberto (1850–1898), Portugal, South Africa

J

• Jackson, Frederick George (1860–1938), Great Britain, Siberian Tundra, Franz Josef Land, Great Victoria Desert
• Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von (1727–1817), Austria, Antilles
• James, Thomas (1593-1635), England, Hudsonbay
• Janszoon, Willem (1571–1638), the Netherlands, discoverer of Australia
• Jason (14th century BC), Ancient Greece, Colchis (Georgia)
• Yermak (1540? –1585), Russia, conqueror of Siberia
• Jiménez de Quesada, Gonzalo (1509–1579), Spain, discoverer of Colombia and Venezuela, founder of Bogotá
• Jobson, Richard (17th century), Great Britain, Ethiopia, Gambia
• Johansen, Hjalmar (1867–1913), Norway, South and North Pole
• Johnston, Henry Hamilton (1858–1927), Great Britain, Africa, described the okapi
• Joliet, Louis (1645–1700), France, explorer of the Missouri and Arkansas, map maker of the Mississippi
• Jühlke, Karl Ludwig (1856–1886), Germany, German East Africa
• Junghuhn, Franz Wilhelm (1809–1864), Germany, explored Java and Western Sumatra
• Junker, Wilhelm (1840–1892), Russia, explored the Upper Nile and its tributaries

K

• Kamel, Georg Joseph (1661–1706), Austria, Philippines
• Kandt, Richard (1867–1918), Germany, Africa explorer, German East Africa
• Kane, Elisha Kent (1820–1857), USA, Africa, Asia and the Arctic Ocean
• Kapiza, Andrei Petrovich (1931–2011), Russia, Antarctic explorer, discoverer of Lake Vostok
• Kappler, August (1815–1887), Germany, Suriname, founder of Albina
• Karlsefni, Thorfinn (9th and 10th centuries), Iceland, Vinlandfahrt
• Keeling, William (1578-1620), United Kingdom, Cocos Islands
• Kegel, Johann Karl Ehrenfried (1784–1863), Germany, Kamtschatka
• Kennan, George (1845–1924), USA, Siberia, Kamchatka
• Kennedy, Edmund (1818–1848), United Kingdom, Queensland, New South Wales
• Kennedy, William (1830–1890), British North America, Canadian Arctic
• Kerguelen de Trémarec, Yves Joseph de (1734–1797), France, Australian coast, Kerguelen Islands
• Kermadec, Jean Michel Huon de (1748–1793), France, South Pacific
• Kingsley, Mary (1862–1900), Great Britain, African explorer and ethnologist, West and Central Africa
• Knox, Robert (1641–1720), England, prisoner in the Kingdom of Kandy, discoverer of Anuradhapura
• Koldewey, Carl (1837–1908), Germany, North Polar Expeditions
• Kolchak, Alexander Wassiljewitsch (1874–1920), Russia, Arctic
• Columbus, Christoph (1451–1506), Genoa, reached America in search of the sea route to India, discovered numerous countries and islands and founded a colony on Hispaniola
• Konščak, Ferdinand (1703–1759), Croatia, California, Mexico
• Kotschy, Theodor (1813–1866), Austria, travels to Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Persia
• Kotzebue, Otto von (1787–1846), Russia, leader of two Russian circumnavigations (1815–1818 and 1823–1826)
• Kozlow, Pjotr (1863–1935), Russia, Mongolia, Tibet
• Krapf, Johann Ludwig (1810–1881), Germany, toured Kenya and Tanzania
• Krenkel, Ernst (1903–1971), Soviet Union, polar explorer
• Krusenstern, Adam Johann von (1770–1846), Russia, leader of the Russian circumnavigation expedition 1803–1806
• Kund, Richard (1852–1904), Germany, research expeditions in Cameroon

L.

• La Condamine, Charles-Marie de (1701–1774), France, Amazon
• Ladrillero, Juan Fernández (1495–1582), Spain, Exploring the Strait of Magellan in 1557
• Laing, Alexander Gordon (1793–1826), England, explored Timbuktu
• Lamy, Amédée-François (1858–1900), France, Sahara, Congo, Chad
• Lancaster, James (1554-1618), Great Britain, Indian Ocean
• Lander, John (1806–1839), England, explored the Niger and Benue
• Lander, Richard Lemon (1804–1834), England, West Africa
• La Pérouse, Jean-François de (1741–1788), France, explorer of the Pacific
• Laptew, Khariton Prokofievich (? –1763), Russia, Taimyr Peninsula
• Laptew, Dmitri Jakowlewitsch (1701–1771), Russia, Northern Siberia
• La Salle, Robert (1643–1687), France, Great Lakes, Mississippi
• Lasarew, Michail Petrovich (1788–1851), Russia, companion of Bellingshausen, Antarctica
• Lavrador, João Fernandes (15th century), Portugal, Labrador
• Lawrence, Thomas Edward (1888–1935), Great Britain, Orient
• Le Coq, Albert von (1860–1930), Germany, research trips to Central Asia
• Ledebour, Carl Friedrich von (1786–1851), Germany, Altai Mountains
• Ledyard, John (1751–1789), USA, accompanied James Cook on his last trip to Russia
• Legaspi, Miguel López de (1502–1572), Spain, explorer of the Philippines and Mexico
• Leguat, François (1637–1735), France, Rodrigues, Mauritius
• Leichhardt, Ludwig (1813–1848), Germany, researcher in Australia
• Lejean, Guillaume (1828–1871), France, Northeast Africa
• Le Maire, Jakob (1585–1616), the Netherlands, explorers of Cape Horn, United States Island and Tonga
• Lemos, Gaspar de (15th and 16th centuries), Portugal, companion of Cabral, discoverer of All Saints Bay
• Lenz, Oskar (1848–1925), Austria, Africa explorer
• León, Juan Ponce de (1460–1521), Spain, Conquistador in Puerto Rico, North America
• Lerman, Dragutin (1863–1918), Croatia, Congo
• Lerner, Theodor (1866–1931), Germany, Arctic
• Leschenault de la Tour, Jean Baptiste (1773–1826), France, Baudin's companion in Australia, botanist in India and Guyana
• Lesueur, Charles Alexandre (1778–1846), France, Australia
• Lewis, Meriwether (1774–1809), USA, leader of the first American expedition across the continent
• Linnaeus, Carl von (1707–1778), Sweden, botanist, created the basis for botanical and zoological taxonomy with his binary nomenclature , whereby species and genus could be described in the animal and plant world
• Lisjanski, Juri Fjodorowitsch (1773–1837), Russia, accompanied Krusenstern on his circumnavigation
• Livingstone, David (1813–1873), Great Britain, missionary and African explorer
• Lyachow, Ivan (18th century), Russia, Lyachow Islands and Kotelny
• Loaísa, García Jofre de (1490–1526), ​​sea route to the Spice Islands via the Atlantic and Pacific
• López de Cárdenas, García (16th century), Spain, Southwest North America
• Lugard, Frederick (1858–1945), Great Britain, Uganda
• Lütke, Friedrich (1797–1882), Russia, circumnavigator, Kamchatka, Nowaja Zemlya

M.

• MacKenzie, Alexander (1764-1820), Great Britain, explorer, expeditions in North America
• Mackenzie, Thomas (1854-1930), New Zealand, Dusky Sound
• Mackinder, Halford (1861–1947), Great Britain, first to climb the Batian
• Madoc (12th century), Wales, one of the possible early travelers to North America
• Magellan, Ferdinand (around 1470–1521), Portugal, navigator, leader of the first expedition around the world
• Mage, Eugène (1837–1869), France, West Africa
• Magyar, Ladislaus (1818–1864), Hungary, traveler in the Congo
• Mahu, Jacob (1564–1598), Netherlands, South Atlantic
• Makarow, Stepan Ossipowitsch (1849–1904), Russia, Arctic Ocean
• Malaspina, Alessandro (1754–1810), Italy, Pacific, West Coast of Continental America, Australia
• Painter, Teoberto (1842–1917), Austria, Mayan ruins
• Mallory, George (1886–1924), Great Britain, Mt. Everest mountaineering pioneer, hypothetical first-time climber
• Malocello, Lancelotto (13th-14th centuries), Genoa, Canary Islands
• Maltzan, Heinrich von (1826–1874), Germany, Mecca
• Mamiya, Rinzo (1775-1844), Japan, Sakhalin
• Marchand, Étienne (1755–1793), France, circumnavigation of the world
• Marchand, Jean-Baptiste (1863–1934), France, Central Africa
• Markham, Clements (1830-1916), Great Britain, Polar Regions
• Marno, Ernst (1844–1883), Austria, Africa explorer
• Marques, Lourenço (16th century), Portugal, Mozambique
• Marquette, Jacques (1637–1675), France, North America
• Martius, Carl Friedrich Philipp von (1794–1868), Germany, botanist and ethnologist, traveled to the Amazon
• Mascarenhas, Pedro (1484–1555), Portugal, discoverer of the Mascarenes
• Matteucci, Pellegrino (1850–1881), Italy, Africa
• Maternus, Julius (1st and 2nd centuries), Rome, Sub-Saharan Africa
• Mauch, Karl (1837–1875), Germany, the Africa explorer discovered ancient Zimbabwe
• Mawson, Douglas (1882–1958), Great Britain, explorer of the Antarctic
• Meares, John (1756–1809), Great Britain, North America, Arctic
• Mechow, Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von (1831–1890), Germany, Angola
• Mendaña de Neyra, Alvaro de (around 1541–1595), Spain, navigator, discoverer of the Solomon Islands and the Marquesas
• Meneses, Jorge de (around 1498–1537), Portugal, navigator, discoverer of New Guinea
• Menzies, Archibald (1754–1842), Scotland, West Indies, accompanied George Vancouver on his world tour
• Mertz, Xavier (1882–1913), Switzerland, Antarctica
• Merz, Alfred (1880–1925), Austria, South Atlantic
• Mesurier MacClure, Robert John le (1807–1873), Ireland, polar explorer, discoverer of the Northwest Passage
• Meyer, Hans (1858–1929), Germany, Africa explorer, first ascent of Kilimanjaro
• Middendorff, Alexander Theodor von (1815–1894), Russia, Taimyrland, Amur upper reaches, coasts of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk
• Miklucho-Maklai, Nikolai Nikolajewitsch (1846–1888), Russia, Pacific Islands, v. a. New Guinea
• Minuit, Peter (1585–1638), Germany, North America
• Minutoli, Heinrich Menu von (1772–1846), Prussia, Egypt
• Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone (1792–1855), Great Britain, Australia
• Mohr, Eduard (1828–1876), Germany, East Africa
• Monod, Théodore (1902-2000), France, Sahara
• Montejo, Francisco de (1479–1548), Spain, conquistador in Yucatán
• Moresby, John (1830–1922), United Kingdom, New Guinea Coast, Port Moresby
• Moreno, Perito (1852–1919), Argentina, Patagonia
• Morgen, Curt (1858–1928), Germany, research trips to Cameroon
• Mouhot, Henri (1826–1861), France, Southeast Asia
• Moustier, Marius (1853–1886), France, Sources of Niger
• Muir, John (1838–1914), Scotland, Alaska, Sierra Nevada
• Müller, Gerhard Friedrich (1705–1783), Germany, Siberia
• Müller, Salomon (1804–1863), Germany, East India, New Guinea, Timor, Sumatra
• Munk, Jens (1579–1628), Denmark, Arctic (Northeast and Northwest Passages)
• Munzinger, Werner (1832–1875), Switzerland, Ethiopia

N

• Nachtigal, Gustav (1834–1885), Germany, Africa
• Nansen, Fridtjof (1861–1930), Norway, Arctic
• Nares, George Strong (1831–1915), Great Britain, Arctic Ocean
• Narváez, Pánfilo de (1440–?), Spain, Florida
• Natterer, Johann (1787–1843), Austria, Brazil
• Nehsi (15th century BC), Egypt, Land of Punt
• Nicolet, Jean (1598-1642), French, Quebec
• Nicollet, Joseph (1786–1843), France, Mississippi, and Missouri
• Nicuesa, Diego de (16th century), Spain, Panama
• Niebuhr, Carsten (1733–1815), Germany, Arabia
• Nieuhof, Joan (1618–1672), Holland, China, Southeast Asia
• Nikitin, Athanasius (15th century), Russia, Caspian Sea and India
• Ninnis, Belgrave Edward Sutton (1887–1912), Great Britain, Antarctica
• Niza Marcos de (1495–1558), Spain, clergyman, North America
• Nobile, Umberto (1885–1978), Italy, Polar Regions
• Noli, António (1415–1497), Italy, Cape Verde Islands
• Noort, Olivier van (1558–1627), Netherlands, first circumnavigation of the world by a Dutchman
• Nordenskiöld, Adolf Erik (1832–1901), Finland, Arctic
• Norgay, Tenzing (1914–1986), Nepal, first to climb Mt. Everest
• Noronha, Fernão de (15th and 16th centuries), Portugal, explorer of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago
• Nova, João da (1460–1509), Portugal, Ascención and St. Helena
• Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar (in the 16th century), Spain, Mexico

O

• Ocampo, Sebastián de (early 16th century), Spain, navigator, first circumnavigation of Cuba, discovery of the Gulf of Mexico
• Odorich von Pordenone (1274–1331), Italy, journey through Sumatra, Java, Borneo, China, Persia
• Ogden, Peter Skene (1790–1854), Canada, Trapper, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming
• Ojeda, Alonso de (around 1466–1516), Spain, seafarers, Guyana and Trinidad
• Olearius, Adam (August 16, 1603 - February 23, 1681), legation trip to Persia, travel writer, translator
• Olid, Cristóbal de (1487–1524), Spain, Conquistador, Mexico and Honduras
• Orbigny, Alcide d ' (1802-1857), France, geologist, South America
• Orellana, Francisco de (1511–1546), Spain, Conquistador, South America, Amazon
• Ortiz de Retez, Íñigo (16th century), Spain, New Guinea
• Overweg, Adolf (1822–1852), Germany, Africa explorer
• Oxley, John (1785-1828), United Kingdom, New South Wales

P

• Paccard, Michel-Gabriel (1757–1827), Italy, first to climb Mont Blanc
• Palliser, John (1817-1887), Ireland, Canada
• Pallme, Ignaz (1806–1877), Austria, Kordofan
• Palmer, Nathaniel (1799–1877), USA, Antarctica
• Papanin, Iwan Dmitrijewitsch (1894–1986), Soviet Union, Arctic
• Pardo, Juan (?) Spain, Conquistador, Southeast North America
• Park, Mungo (1771–1806), Great Britain, African explorer, Gambia, Niger
• Parry, William Edward (1790–1855), Great Britain, Explorer, Arctic
• Pastene, Juan Bautista (1507–1576), Italy, conquistador, southern Chile
• Payer, Julius (1842–1915), Austria, polar explorer, discoverer of the Franz Josef Land
• Payer, Richard (1836 – after 1910), Austria, Andes and Amazon regions
• Peary, Robert Edwin (1856–1920), USA, polar explorer, said to be the first at the North Pole
• Pechuel-Loesche, Eduard (1840–1913), Germany, America, Africa
• Pelliot, Paul (1878–1945), France, Sinologist, Central Asia
• Pereira, Duarte Pacheco (1469–1533), Portugal, seafarer, Atlantic, Amazon estuary, India
• Perestrelo, Bartolomeu (1395–1457), Portugal, navigator, explorer of Madeira
• Permjakow, Jakow (? –1712), Russia, seafarers, New Siberian Islands
• Péron, François (1775–1810), France, Baudin's companion in Australia
• Peters, Karl (1856–1918), Germany, politician, Africa explorer, East Africa
• Pfeiffer, Ida (1797–1858), Austria-Hungary, explorer, first circumnavigation of the world by a woman
• Pfeil, Joachim Graf (1857–1924), Germany, researcher, South Africa, New Guinea
• Phipps, Constantine (1744–1792), Great Britain, explorer, Arctic Ocean, Arctic
• Phokas Ioannis (1536–1602), Greece, Pacific Northwest
• Piccard, Auguste (1884–1962), Switzerland, physicist and inventor, world record holder
• Piccard, Bertrand (* 1958), Switzerland, psychiatrist, scientist and adventurer, first orbit the earth with a hot air balloon
• Piccard, Jacques (1922–2008), Switzerland, Unterseeforscher, Tiefsee
• Pigafetta, Antonio (around 1492 – after 1531), Italy, participant and chronicler of Magellan's circumnavigation
• Pike, zebulon (1779–1813), United States, explorer, Louisiana
• Pineda, Alonso Álvarez de (1494–1520), Spain, navigator, Gulf of Mexico
• Pining, Didrik (around 1428–1499), Germany, explorer, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Pinto, Fernão Mendes (1509–1583), Portugal, explorer, Ethiopia, China, India, Japan
• Pinzón, Martín Alonso (1441–1493), Spain, navigator, Caribbean
• Pinzón, Vicente Yáñez (1460–1523), Spain, seafarer, Caribbean, Brazil
• Pizarro, Francisco (1471–1541), Spain, conquistador, Inca Empire
• Pizarro, Gonzalo (1502–1548), Spain, conquistador, Inca Empire
• Pizarro, Hernando (before 1475–1578), Spain, conquistador
• Pizarro, Juan (1511–1536), Spain, Conquistador
• Pjanda, Demid († after 1637), Russia, Siberia
• Plano Carpini, Johannes de (1185–1252), Italy, Mongolia
• Pöch, Rudolf (1870–1921), Austria, New Guinea, Australia, South Africa
• Poeppig, Eduard Friedrich (1798–1868), Germany, Amazonas, Andes
• Pogge, Paul (1838–1884), Germany, traveler to Africa, Natal, Mauritius and Réunion
• Pohl, Johann Baptist Emanuel (1782–1834), Austria, Brazil
• Pó, Fernão do (15th century), Portugal, Gulf of Guinea
• Polo, Marco (1254-1324), Venice, Traveler, China
• Pomp, Dirck Gerritz (1544–1608), the Netherlands, first Dutch in Japan, likely discoverer of the South Shetland Islands
• Ponce de León (1460–1521), Spain, Florida
• Pond, Peter (1740–1807), US, soldier and fur trader, Canada
• Portolá, Gaspar de (1734–1784), Spain, soldier and politician, California
• Pothorst, Hans (15th Century), Germany, Explorers, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Powell, John Wesley (1834–1902), United States, explorer, Colorado River and Grand Canyon
• Prontschischtschew, Wassili Wassiljewitsch (1702–1736), Russia, Siberia
• Prschewalski, Nikolai Michailowitsch (1839–1888), Russia, explorer, East Asia
• Pryor, Nathaniel (around 1785–1850), USA, researcher, continental crossing North America
• Purtscheller, Ludwig (1849–1900), Austria, first ascent of Kilimanjaro
• Pyrard, François (1578–1621), France, Maldives
• Pytheas (around 380 – around 310 BC), ancient Greece, explorers, Britain and other northern European countries

Q

• Quesada, Gonzalo Jiménez de (1509–1579), Spain, Conquistador, Colombia and Chibchareiches
• Quirós, Pedro Fernandez de (approx. 1565–1615), Portugal, seafarer, Pacific

R.

• Racoviță, Emil (1868–1947), Romania, South Pole (participant in the Belgica expedition)
• Rae, John (1813-1893), United Kingdom, explorer, Canadian Arctic
• Raffles, Thomas Stamford (1781–1826), Great Britain, Singapore
• Rallier du Baty, Raymond (1881–1978), France, Kerguelen
• Rasmussen, Knud Johann Victor (1879–1933), Denmark, polar explorer
• Rauwolf, Leonhard (1535–1596), Germany, Middle East
• Raleigh, Walter (c.1554-1618), England, researcher
• Rebmann, Johannes (1820–1876), Germany, travels into the interior of Africa, discovered Kilimanjaro
• Reichard, Paul (1854–1938), Germany, Africa explorer
• Reiss, Wilhelm (1838–1908), Germany, researcher, South America, first ascent of Cotopaxi
• Reis, Piri (1470–1554 / 1555), Ottoman Empire, seafarers, map of the Piri Reis (Ottoman sea map of the Central Atlantic), contributions to the world map
• Reis, Seydi Ali (1498–1562), Ottoman Empire, seafarer, exploration of the lands from India to Constantinople

• Reischek, Andreas (1845–1902), Austria, Maori Kingdom on the North Island of New Zealand
• Resanow, Nikolai Petrovich (1764–1807), Russia, North America
• Ricci, Matteo (1552–1610), Italy, China, was the first European to enter the Forbidden City
• Richardson, James (1809-1851), Great Britain, African explorer
• Richardson, John (1787–1865), United Kingdom, Northwest Passage, Mackenzie River
• Ritscher, Alfred (1879–1963), Germany, Neuschwabenland
• Rock, Joseph (1884–1962), Austria, Burma, China
• Rodrigues, Diogo (approx. 1500–1577), Portugal, sailors, Mascarene
• Rogers, Robert (1731–1795), British North America, Soldier, Northwest Passage via the North American River System
• Roggeveen, Jacob (1659–1729), Netherlands, discoverer of Easter Island and the Samoa Archipelago
• Rohlfs, Gerhard (1831–1896), Germany, Africa explorer
• Rondon, Cândido (1865–1958), Brazil, soldier, Mato Grosso and western Amazon basin
• Roosevelt, Kermit (1889–1943), USA, western Amazon basin
• Roosevelt, Theodore (1858–1919), USA, western Amazon basin
• Roscher Albrecht (1836–1860), Germany, Tanzania, Niassa (Malawi) Lake
• Rosenberg, Hermann von (1817–1888), Germany, Dutch East Indies
• Rosmyslow, Fedor (? –1771), Russia, Novaya Zemlya
• Ross, James Clark (1800–1862), Great Britain, Explorer and Navigator, Polar Regions
• Rubruk, Wilhelm von (1215–1270), Flanders, Franciscans, Mongolia
• Russanow, Vladimir Alexandrowitsch (1875–1913), Russia, geologist, Novaya Zemlya

S.

• Saavedra, Alvaro de (16th century), Spanish navigator, Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, and New Guinea
• Salcedo, Juan de (1549–1576), Spain, Philippines
• Sannikow, Jakow (1780–1812), Russia, New Siberian Islands
• Santarém, João de (15th century), Portugal, explorers of São Tomés, Annobóns and Principes
• Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro (1530–1593), Spain, Navigator, Solomon Islands and the Strait of Magellan
• Savoy, Luigi Amadeo von (1873–1933), Italy, explorer, North Pole, Karakoram, Africa
• Schelikow, Grigorii Iwanowitsch (1747–1795), Russia, Russian America (Alaska)
• Schlagintweit, Hermann von (1826–1882), Germany, explorer, Indian subcontinent
• Schmidt, Otto Juljewitsch (1891–1956), Soviet Union, North-East Passage
• Schnitzer, Eduard (known under the name Mehmed Emin Pascha ), (1840-1892), German, Africa explorer
• Schokalski, Juli Michailowitsch (1856–1940), Soviet Union, Northeast Passage
• Schomburgk, Hans (1880–1967), Germany, explorer, zoologist, animal filmmaker, Africa
• Schomburgk, Moritz Richard (1811–1891), Germany, explorer, British Guiana, Brazil, South Australia.
• Schomburgk, Robert Hermann (1804–1865), Germany, explorer, West Indies, Central and South America
• Schouten, Willem Cornelisz (around 1575–1625), Holland, seafarer, discoverer of Cape Horn and Tonga
• Schrader, Carl (1852–1930), Germany, South Georgia, New Guinea
• Schrenck, Leopold von (1826–1894), Russia, zoologist, geologist and ethnologist, Amur
• Schweinfurth, Georg (1836–1925), Germany, Africa explorer, Egypt
• Scolvus, Johannes (1435–1484), Denmark, hypothetical discoverer of America
• Scoresby, William (1789–1857), Great Britain, Navigator and Explorer, Arctic Ocean
• Scott, Robert Falcon (1868–1912), Great Britain, polar explorer, Antarctica
• Sedow, Georgi Jakowlewitsch (1877–1914), Russia, polar explorer, Northeast Passage
• Seemann, Berthold (1825–1871), Germany, explorer, Central America, Southern Ocean, Fiji Islands
• Seljan, Mirko (1871–1912), Croatia, globetrotter, Ethiopia, South America
• Seljan, Stjepan (1875–1936), Croatia, Globetrotter, Ethiopia, South America
• Selkirk, Alexander (1676–1721), Scotland, Navigator, Juan Fernández Islands
• Serpa Pinto, Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de (1846–1900), Portugal, southern Africa
• Shin, Hoei China, allegedly landed in America in 499
• Shipton, Eric (1907–1977), UK, mountaineer, Himalayas
• Shackleton, Ernest Henry (1874–1922), Ireland, polar explorer, Antarctica
• Siebold, Philipp Franz von (1796–1866), Germany, Japan
• Silves, Diogo de (15th century), Portugal, discoverer of the Azores
• Singh, Nain (19th century), India, first maps of Tibet
• Siple, Paul (1908–1968), United States, polar explorer
• Skylax of Karyanda (5th century BC), Greece, explorer, trips to the Indus, Arabia and Egypt
• Slatin, Rudolf (1857–1932), Austria, mercenary and adventurer, Sudan
• Slocum, Joshua (1844–1909), Canada, first solo circumnavigation of the world
• Smith, Benjamin Leigh (1828–1913), England, naturalist, Arctic
• Smith, Jedediah Strong (1798–1831), USA, trapper, rediscoverer of the South Pass and thus founder of the Oregon Trail
• Smith, William (1775–?), Great Britain, naval officer, discoverer of the South Shetland Islands
• Soto, Hernando de (1496–1542), Spain, navigator and conquistador, explored the southeastern part of today's USA
• Sousa, Martim Afonso de (1500–1571), Portugal, first expedition into the interior of Brazil
• Soyaux, Hermann (1852–?), Germany, West Africa
• Speke, John Hanning (1827–1864), Great Britain, African explorer, discovered Lake Victoria
• Spilbergen, Joris van (1568–1620), Netherlands, Sri Lanka
• Spöring, Herman Diedrich (1733–1771), Swedish-Finnish draftsman and naturalist, companion of Cook in the Pacific
• Stairs, William (1863-1892), United Kingdom, explorer, discovered a source of the Nile
• Stanley, Henry Morton (1841–1904), Great Britain, explored Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and the Congo
• Stefánsson, Vilhjálmur (1879–1962), Canada, geographer and polar explorer, discoverer of Mackenzie King Island and Borden Island
• Stein, Marc Aurel (1862–1943), Hungary, archaeologist, Central Asia (Silk Road)
• Stein zu Lausnitz, Ludwig Freiherr von (1868–1934), German, Cameroon
• Stephens, John Lloyd (1805–1852), USA, explored the Middle East and Central America
• Stevens, Hazard (1842–1918), USA, first to climb Mt. Rainier
• Stewart, William (19th century), Scotland, Stewart Island
• Stoliczka, Ferdinand (1838–1874), Austria-Hungary, Himalaya region
• Strabo (63 BC? - 24 AD?), Greek, geographer, toured the Roman Empire
• Strzelecki, Sir Paul Edmund (1797–1873), German, researcher and explorer, America, Asia, Australia, Egypt
• Stuart, John McDouall (1815–1866), Scotland, explorer, Australia
• Sturt, Charles (1795–1869), Great Britain, Navigator, Australia
• Surville, Jean-François-Marie de (1717–1770), France, Pacific (New Zealand)
• Svavarsson, Gardard (9th century), Vikings, explorers of Iceland
• Sverdrup, Otto (1854–1930), Norwegian polar explorer, Arctic
• Szentmartony, Ignacije (1718–1793), Croatia, Jesuit, Amazon

T

• Tanaka, Shosuke (17th century), Japan, America
• Tappenbeck, Hans (1861–1889), Germany, research trips in the Congo region and in southern Cameroon
• Tasman, Abel (1603-1659), Holland, discovered Tasmania and New Zealand
• Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste (1605–1689), France, world traveler, Orient and India
• Teleki, Samuel (1865–1916), Austria-Hungary, Africa explorer, discoverer of Lake Rudolph and Lake Stefanie
• Thesiger, Wilfred (1910–2003), Great Britain, explorer and cartographer, Arabian Peninsula
• Thompson, Erward Herbert (1857–1935), USA, archaeologist and diplomat, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
• Thomson, Charles (1830–1882), Scotland, first worldwide oceanographic studies
• Thomson, Joseph (1858–1895), Scotland, explored the area of ​​Lake Tanganyika and the Congo
• Toll, Eduard (1858–1902), Russia (Baltic Germans), New Siberian Islands
• Tolmie, William Fraser (1812–1886), Scotland, Canada
• Tounens, Orélie-Antoine de (1825–1878), France, Araucania and Patagonia
• Thorbjarnardottir, Guðríður (11th century), Iceland, North America (Vinland)
• Texeira, Pedro (around 1570–1649), Portugal, explored the Amazon and Napo
• Texeira, Tristão Vaz (1395–1480), Portugal, discoverer of Madeira
• Tinné, Alexandrine (1835–1869), Netherlands, was the first European to look for the sources of the Nile
• Torre, Bernardo de la (? –1545), discoverer of the Ogasawara Islands and parts of the northern Mariana Islands
• Torres, Luis Váez de (approx. 1565–1613), Spain, was the first to drive the Torres Strait between New Guinea and Australia
• Treich-Laplène, Marcel (1860–1890), France, Ivory Coast
• Tristão, Nuno (? –1446), Portugal, African west coast
• Tscheljuskin, Semjon Ivanovich (1700–1764), Russia, Kamchatka
• Tschirikow, Alexei Ilyich (18th century), Russia, Kamchatka and Alaska
• Tschudi, Johann Jakob von (1818–1889), Switzerland, natural scientist and linguist, South America
• Tudela, Benjamin von (? –1173), Spain, world traveler, Orient (especially the Middle East)

U

• Ulloa, Francisco de († 1540), Spain, Baja California
• Urdaneta, Andrés de (1498–1568), Spain, navigator, Pacific route Philippines-Mexico
• Ursúa, Martín de (17th century), Spain, Guatemala
• Urville, Jules Dumont d ' (1790–1842), France, explorer of the Pacific and Antarctic
• Urwanzew, Nikolai Nikolajewitsch (1893–1985), Soviet Union, Severnaya Zemlya
• Uschakow, Georgi Alexejewitsch (1901–1963), Soviet Union, Arctic

V

• Valdivia, Pedro de (1497–1553), Spain, Conquistador, Peru, Chile
• Vancouver, George (1757–1798), Great Britain, explorer, exploring the Pacific coast of North America
• Van Trump, Philemon Beecher (1839–1916), USA, first ascent of Mt. Rainier
• Varennes et de la Vérendrye, Pierre Gaultier de (1685–1749), French Canada, soldier and trader, North America
• Varthema, Ludovico de (approx. 1470–1517), Italy, one of the first Europeans in Medina and Mecca, India
• Vázquez de Ayllón, Lucas (1475–1526), ​​Spain, conquistador, Eastern part of today's USA
• Velázquez de Cuéllar, Diego (1465–1524), Spain, conqueror and first governor of Cuba
• Velho Cabral, Gonçalo (1400–1460), Portugal, explorer of the eastern islands of the Azores
• Verrazano, Giovanni da (1485–1528), Florence, marine explorer, east coast of today's USA
• Vespucci, Amerigo (1454–1512), Florence, navigator, discovered parts of South America
• Villalobos, Ruy López de (1500–1544), Spain, explored the Pacific and the Philippines
• Villegagnon, Nicolas Durand de (1510–1571), France, colonist, Brazil
• Vivaldi, Guido (14th century), Genoa, attempted to find India in a westerly direction 150 years before Columbus, who discovered the Cape Verde Islands
• Vivaldi, Ugolino (14th century), Genoa, attempted to find India in a westerly direction 150 years before Columbus, discoverer of the Cape Verde Islands
• Vizcaíno, Sebastián (1548–1623), Spain, navigator and diplomat, Mexico, California, Japan
• Vlamingh, Willem de (1640–1698), Netherlands, sailor, Australia (Rottnest and Dirk Hartog Islands)
• Vogel, Eduard (1829–1855), Germany, Africa explorer, Chad

W.

• Wagner, Moritz (1813–1887), Germany, Middle East, America
• Wakefield, William (1801–1848), Great Britain, New Zealand, Founder of Wellington
• Waldeck, Jean-Frédéric (1766–1875), France, antiquarian, artist and researcher, Mayan ruins
• Walker, Joseph (1798–1876), USA, founder of the California Trail and discoverer of the Yosemite
• Wallace, Alfred Russel (1823–1913), Great Britain, Indonesia, naturalist, discovered the biogeographical boundary between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi, both above and below water
• Wallis, Samuel (1728–1795), United Kingdom, Tahiti
• Warner, Langdon (1881–1955), USA, Harvard Professor, Silk Road
• Warburton, Peter (1813–1889), Great Britain, Western and Central Australia
• Wassiljew, Michail Petrovich (1857–1904), Russia, commander of the icebreaker Yermak in arctic waters
• Weddell, James (1787–1834), England, navigator and seal hunter, Antarctica
• Weert, Seebald de (? –1602), Netherlands, Falkland Islands, Southeast Asia
• Wegener, Alfred (1880–1930), Germany, geophysicist and explorer, Greenland
• Welwitsch, Friedrich (1806–1872), Austria, botanist, Angola
• Weyprecht, Carl (1838–1881), Germany, polar researcher, co-discoverer of Franz Josef Land
• Whymper, Edward (1840–1911), Great Britain, first to climb the Matterhorn and Chimborazos
• Wilczeck, Johann Nepomuk Graf (1837–1922), Austria, polar explorer, Arctic
• Wild, John Robert Francis (1873–1939), Great Britain, Antarctica
• Wilhelm von Rubruk (1215–1270), Flanders, Franciscans, Mongolia
• Wilkes, Charles (1798–1877), United States, explorer of the Antarctic
• Wilkins, Hubert (1888–1958), Australia, Aviation Pioneer, Arctic, Weddell Sea
• Wilkizki, Boris Andrejewitsch (1885–1961), Russia, Severnaya Zemlya
• Willoughby, Hugh (? –1554), England, Navigator, Exploring the Northeast Passage
• Wills, William John (1834–1861), Trying to Cross Australia from North to South
• Wilson, Edward (1872–1912), Great Britain, Antarctica
• Worsley, Frank (1872–1943), New Zealand, Shackleton's companion in Antarctica
• Wissmann, Hermann von (1853–1905), Germany, Africa explorer, crossed Central Africa and undertook several (military) expeditions in German East Africa
• Witsen, Nicolaas (1641–1717), Netherlands, Siberia
• Wrangel, Ferdinand von (1797–1870), Russia, Siberia
• Wüllerstorf-Urbair, Bernhard von (1816–1883), Austria, leader of the Novara expedition

X

• Xaver Franz (1506–1552), Spain, traveled extensively as a missionary through India and Japan.
• Xuanzang (603–664), China, Silk Road, India, Afghanistan

Y

• Yamada, Nagasama (1590-1630), Japan, Siam
• Young, Edward (1831-1896), Great Britain, African explorer
• Younghusband, Sir Francis (1863–1942), England, India, and Tibet
• Yupanqui, Túpac (? –1493), Peru, 10th ruler of the Inca Empire, probably discovered Easter Island himself with a fleet of balsa rafts during his reign

Z

• Zahm, John Augustine (1851–1921), USA, Brazil
• Zarco, João Gonçalves (1380–1467), Portugal, Madeira
• Zhang Qian (2nd century BC), China, Central Asia
• Zheng He (1371–1435), China, Indian Ocean towards Africa and Arabia
• Zintgraff, Eugen (1858–1897), explorer, Congo region and Cameroon
• Zöller, Hugo (1852–1933), Germany, explorer, West Africa and Cameroon
• Zollinger, Heinrich (1818–1859), Switzerland, Java and Sunda Islands
• Zurbriggen, Matthias (1856–1917), Switzerland, first to climb Aconcagua, Karakoram, India, Australia
• Doubt, Josua (1854–1895), Switzerland, sources of Niger

Individual evidence

1. ^ William Robert Broughton's Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific 1795-1798: p. 295
2. ↑ Die Zeit: Battle for the Pole
3. ^ Discovery of the Yosemite (1892) by Lafayette H. Bunnell
4. ^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography: CORTE-REAL, MIGUEL
5. ↑ David Arias: Spanish-Americans / Lives and Faces
6. ^ Edward Paice: Lost Lion of Empire: The Life of 'Cape-to-Cairo' Grogan
7. ^ Devon: John M. Wasson
8. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Hodgkinson, Clement (1818-1893)
9. ↑ Terrae Incognitae: The Journal of the Society for the History of Discoveries , Volume 47, 2015 - Issue 2