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Jan 1, 1000
Leif Erickson
A Norse explorer from Iceland. He is thought to have been the first known European to have set foot on continental North America (excluding Greenland), approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. -
Mar 22, 1455
Prince Henry the Navigator
Prince Henry the Navigator in the 15th century European Maritime discoveries and maritime expansion. -
Aug 1, 1486
Bartolomeu Dias
in 1488, sailed from portugal southward made it to the bottom of Africa.discovering the southern tip of Africa, the cape of good hope. -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus
He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas. Though he did not really “discover” the New World—millions of people already lived there—his journeys marked the beginning of centuries of exploration and colonization of North and South America. -
May 26, 1497
John Cabot
Italian sailor John Cabot, sailing for the English, searched for a passage to the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Canada and Newfoundland. This became the basis of Englands claim to North America. -
Jul 8, 1497
Vasco da Gama
in 1497 , sailed all around Africa and all the way to India, winning the European race for a sea route to Asia. -
May 14, 1501
Amerigo Vespucci
America was named for Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to South America in 1501. -
Mar 1, 1508
Juan Ponce de Leon
Juan Ponce de Leon explored Florida in search of a Youth Fountain. -
Sep 12, 1517
Vasco Nunez de Balbo
Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed central America to discover the Pacific Ocean. -
Sep 20, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan headed an Expedition in 1519 that circumnavigated, the world. -
Nov 8, 1519
Hernando Cortes
Explored Mexico in 1519, conquered the Aztecs. -
Oct 3, 1524
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro explored the Andes Mountains of South America and conquered the Inca Empire. -
Sep 1, 1528
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca accompanied by Estevanico, and others, explored the North American Southwest looking for 7 cities of gold. -
Apr 1, 1539
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto explored Florida and North Carolina. -
Feb 23, 1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored North American Southwest looking for the 7 cities of gold and found the grand canyon. -
Apr 20, 1541
Jacques Cartier
Frenchman Jacques Cartier sailed down the Saint Lawrence river all the way to present-day Montreal, claiming lands for France. -
Jun 27, 1542
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explored the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. -
samuel de champlain
He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec, and New France, on 3 July 1608. -
Henry Hudson
The English captain Henery Hudson led a Dutch expedition to present-day New York in 1609. -
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson explored the Arctic waters in 1610. -
Rene-Robert De La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico
