Research oceans

Marine Biology- Ocean Explorers Timeline

  • Phoenicians
    1200 BCE

    Phoenicians

    Phoenicians were the first to build ships and set sail. This way, they could travel and trade much easier.
  • Pythias
    325 BCE

    Pythias

    Pythias made several voyages around Europe. He also predicted Atlantic tides based on the moon.
  • Eratosthenes
    194 BCE

    Eratosthenes

    Calculated, although incorrectly, the circumference of the earth and invented latitude/longitude lines.
  • Vikings (Middle Ages)
    709

    Vikings (Middle Ages)

    Vikings were primarily raiders who traveled by sea and traded with norther continents. Most of viking life was based around seafaring.
  • Chinese (Middle Ages)
    1117

    Chinese (Middle Ages)

    The Chinese built complex ships that could maneuver easily. They were also the first to invest compasses, then the first to use them for ocean navigation.
  • Christopher Columbus
    1492

    Christopher Columbus

    Set out to find a way around the world to Asia, but ended up landing in the Caribbeans. Because of this, he is credited with discovering the Americas.
  • Vasco de Gama
    1497

    Vasco de Gama

    Took many expeditions, credited for discovering new lands and carved out trade routed to Africa and India.
  • Vasco Nunez Balboa
    1513

    Vasco Nunez Balboa

    Discovered South America in the name of Spain, leading to further exploration and conquest in the area.
  • Francis Drake
    1577

    Francis Drake

    Created new routed to Africa, and became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the earth.
  • Captain James Cook

    Captain James Cook

    Devoted to Oceanography, Cook helped to invent the chronometer and traveled to every continent minus Antarctica.
  • Charles Wilkes

    Charles Wilkes

    Led several scientific expeditions, including finding a route to Antarctica.
  • Charles Darwin

    Charles Darwin

    Oceanographer who, on the HMS Beagle, studied ocean life. Specifically coral reefs. Also sailed to many new islands.
  • HMS Challenger

    HMS Challenger

    Devoted to marine sciences, the Challenger had many expeditions, helping to discover around 4,700 new marine species.
  • Mathew Maury

    Mathew Maury

    To make sailing faster and more efficient, he helped predict wind patters out at sea.