William Dampier (1652-1715) was a British explorer sailor, naturalist, and also a buccaneer. The first Englishman to explore and chart parts of Australia and New Guinea. He was the first sailor to circumnavigate the world three times. William Dampier was also the first European to see and describe kangaroos, in 1699. Dampier's voyages are considered the beginning of the scientific exploration of the Pacific area. ¹⁾

Isabel Barreto participated in the expedition of her husband, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neyra, which discovered the Marquesas Islands and then the Santa Cruz Islands (1595). During the expedition, a malaria epidemic broke out among the sailors, which also killed de Mendaña. Before his death, the commander of the expedition gave all his property and all his offices to his wife. After the death of her brother Lorenzo in mid-November, Barreto took command of the flotilla as the first female admiral in Spain. ²⁾

The Roaring Forties Zone is a strip of ocean water running continuously around the southern hemisphere of the globe, approximately between 40° and 50° south latitude. The first man to sail solo around the world through this zone was Argentine Vito Dumas between 1942 and 1943. ³⁾

Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) was an English sailor and writer, a favorite of Elizabeth I. Between 1584 and 1589 he organized English attempts to colonize North America. In 1595 he led an expedition to Guyana and up the Orinoco River in search of the legendary El Dorado. He was accused of conspiracy against James I and sentenced to death. He was beheaded in 1618. ⁴⁾

William IV of Hanover had two older brothers and in his youth, it was not thought that he was destined to come to the throne. Therefore, he became an officer in the Royal Navy and served many years in the Caribbean Sea. At the age of 64, he inherited the throne of England after his two older brothers died leaving no heirs. ⁵⁾

The first to circumnavigate the world alone was American Joshua Slocum. In 1895-1898 he circumnavigated the world on the 11-meter yacht “Spray”. He later described the expedition in his book Sailing Alone Around the World. ⁶⁾

The first woman to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games was Helena de Pourtalès. In 1900, she competed in the Swiss crew with her husband Herman de Pourtalès and his nephew Bernard de Pourtalès in the one- to two-ton class on the yacht “Lérina.” ⁷⁾

British sailor Robin Knox-Johnston was one of nine sailors who in 1968 entered the Golden Globe Race - a solo circumnavigation without calling at ports. On April 22, 1969, he was the only participant to successfully complete the voyage. ⁸⁾

The first female sailor to circumnavigate the world alone was Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz. On March 28, 1976, she sailed from the Canary Islands on the yacht “Mazurek”, which was designed by her husband, Waclaw Liskiewicz. After March 20, 1978, she closed the loop around the earth and made history. ⁹⁾

The first sailor to circumnavigate the world alone without calling at a port and without outside help was Australian Kay Cottee. On June 5, 1988, she completed the voyage on the yacht “Blackmores First Lady” after 189 days at sea. ¹⁰⁾

British athlete Ben Ainslie has won five Olympic medals - four gold and one silver. ¹¹⁾

Christopher Columbus had a copy of a book written by Marco Polo, full of his handwritten notes, which served as the inspiration for his famous voyage. ¹²⁾

Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama made a direct voyage to India - traveling around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. In 1498 Vasco Da Gama reached Calicut (now Kozhikode) in Kerala. The Portuguese explorer crossed the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean to reach the “East.” This led to an increase in the number of sea voyages from all over Europe. ¹³⁾

Portugal has given the world many of its great explorers, such as Ferdinand Magellan, the first navigator to cross the Pacific and lead an expedition that eventually circumnavigated the globe. Some 232 sailors died on Magellan's expedition, including Magellan himself, who was quartered by a tribe in the Philippines. Magellan was financed by Spain, not Portugal. ¹⁴⁾

James Cook was a British explorer who made landmark voyages to the Pacific Ocean. During three major voyages in the late 18th century, Cook became a great explorer of the Pacific Islands and beyond. He made the first European contact with the east coast of Australia. James Cook was the first European to discover Hawaii, and here he met his fate at the hands of hostile natives. Considering the length of his adventure and the scale of his voyage, it is remarkable that Cook survived for so long. The Cook Islands, which he discovered in 1773 as the Hervey Islands, was renamed in his honor in 1800. ¹⁵⁾

John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer. His real name was Zuan Chabotto, and under the auspices of King Henry VII of England, he played a key role in the discovery of parts of North America. John Cabot was an Italian-born explorer who became the second European to find North America while searching for a western route to Asia. He discovered the east coast of Canada and, commissioned by Tudor King Henry VII, claimed the land for England. His death remains the subject of speculation. ¹⁶⁾

Amerigo Vespucci is the man after whom the word “America” originated. This Italian was not only an explorer but also a cartographer and navigator. He was able to show that Brazil was not part of Asia. ¹⁷⁾

Portuguese explorer and navigator Bartolomeu Dias was the first man to command a ship sailing to the southern tip of Africa. King John II of Portugal commissioned him to find a trade route that would lead to India. Following the coast of West Africa, he encountered the Cape of Good Hope. ¹⁸⁾

Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer and a key figure in the heroic era of Antarctic exploration. His 1910-12 Antarctic expedition discovered the South Pole. In 1926, he led the first successful expedition to the North Pole. Roald was the first to cross the Northwest Passage, a route that begins in the Arctic Ocean and ends in the Pacific Ocean. Amundsen is one of four men considered leaders of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. ¹⁹⁾

John Smith was responsible for establishing the earliest settlement for the English in North America. As an explorer, John Smith navigated the rivers between the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia. He also helped map areas of New England and the Chesapeake Bay. ²⁰⁾