Exploration and Discovery Chronology

Christopher Columbus convinces Queen Isabella to fund expedition to the West Indies.

Ref: 2

1488

Feb 03

Bartholomeus Diaz discovers Mosselbaai (Angra dos Vaqueros).

Ref: 5

Dec 15

Bartholomeus Diaz returns to Portugal after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope.

Ref: 5

1491

Dec 31

Jacques Cartier, French explorer, is born.

Ref: 68

1492

Alonzo Pietro, pilot, sailed with Columbus.

Ref: 5

A contract was signed by Christopher Columbus and a representative of Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.

Ref: 5

Apr 30

Columbus is given royal commission to equip his fleet.

Ref: 5

Aug 03

Columbus departs from Palos, Spain on his first voyage to the New World with 119 men on three ships. (XDG, p 4A, 8/3/2000)

Ref: 83

Sep 25

Crewman on the Pinta sights "land"-a few weeks early.

Ref: 5

Oct 12

(Old Style calendar; October 21st New Style), Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present-day Bahamas. (A sailor on Pinta spotted the Bahamas at 2 am)

Ref: 6

Oct 17

Columbus sights isle of San Salvador (Watling Island, Bahamas).

Ref: 5

Oct 28

Christopher Columbus discovers Cuba.

Ref: 5

Nov 15

Christopher Columbus notes 1st recorded reference to tobacco.

Ref: 5

Dec 05

Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti).

Ref: 5

Dec 06

Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) in search of gold.

Ref: 2

Dec 25

Columbus' ship Santa Maria docks at Dominican Republic.

Ref: 5

Dec 26

Christopher Columbus establishes the first Spanish settlement in the New World, in Haiti. (XDG, p 4A, 12/26/2000)

Ref: 83

1493

Jan 04

Columbus leaves the new world on his return from his 1st voyage, on the Nina.

Ref: 5

Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola (now Haiti) after his big discovery.

Ref: 5

Mar 01

Spain first hears of discovery of New World as Martin Pinzon arrives prior to Columbus in Bayona.

Ref: 10

Mar 15

Christopher Columbus returned to Spain, concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

Ref: 70

Apr 15

Columbus meets with King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella.

Ref: 5

May 04

Pope Alexander VI issued "Inter caeterea II," which divided possession of the New World discoveries by Spain and Portugal along a longitudinal line running 250 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands.

Ref: 5

Sep 24

Columbus' 2nd expedition to the New World.

Ref: 5

Sep 25

Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, with a flotilla of 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

Ref: 70

Sep 29

Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his second voyage to the new world.

Ref: 2

Nov 03

Christopher Columbus discovers the Caribbee Isles (Dominica) during his second expedition.

Ref: 2

Nov 04

Christopher Columbus discovers Guadeloupe during his second expedition.

Ref: 2

Nov 10

Christopher Columbus discovers Antigua during his second expedition.

Ref: 2

Nov 19

Christopher Columbus discovers Puerto Rico, on his 2nd voyage.

Ref: 5

1494

Feb 02

Columbus begins the practice using Indians as slaves.

Ref: 2

Jamaica discovered by Christopher Columbus; he names it "St Iago".

Ref: 5

May 05

Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica, which he names Santa Gloria.

Ref: 2

Jun 07

Treaty of Tordesillas gives Portugal lands east and Spain lands west of demarcation line.

Ref: 10

1496

Mar 05

English King Henry VII hires John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) to explore.

Ref: 5

Mar 10

Christopher Columbus concludes his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he leaves Hispaniola for Spain.

Ref: 70

1497

May 02

John Cabot departs to North-America.

Ref: 5

Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci leaves for first voyage to New World

Ref: 2

Jun 24

The first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer John Cabot spotted land, probably in present-day Canada.

Ref: 5

Jul 08

Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon in search of a sea route to India.

Ref: 10

Aug 06

John Cabot returns to England after his first successful journey to the Labrador coast.

Ref: 2

Nov 18

Bartolomeu Dias discovers Cape of Good Hope.

Ref: 5

Nov 22

Vasco da Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope.

Ref: 10

Dec 25

Natal discovered by Vasco da Gama.

Ref: 10

1498

Mar 01

Mozambique discovered by Vasco da Gama.

Ref: 17

Mar 02

Vasco da Gama's fleet visits Mozambique Island.

Ref: 5

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta India.

Ref: 5

May 30

Columbus departs with 6 ships for 3rd trip to America.

Ref: 5

Jun 07

Christopher Columbus leaves on his third voyage of exploration.

Ref: 2

Jul 30

During his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus arrived at the island of Trinidad.

Ref: 6

Jul 31

On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus lands on Trinidad. (XDG, p 4A, 7/31/2000)

Ref: 83

Aug 01

Christopher Columbus sets foot on mainland America for first time at Paria Peninsula, Venezuela.

Ref: 10

Aug 07

Columbus arrives in Caribbean.

Ref: 5

1499

Jul 26

Island of Cura�ao discovered by Alonso de Ojeda who sails into Santa Ana Bay.

Ref: 10

1500

Jan 26

Spanish explorer Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who had commanded the Nina during Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World, reaches the northeastern coast of Brazil during a voyage under his command. Pinzon's journey produces the first recorded account of a European explorer sighting the Brazilian coast, although whether or not Brazil was previously known to Portuguese navigators is still in dispute.

Ref: 3

Mar 09

Pedro Cabral departs with 13 ships to India.

Ref: 5

Pedro �lvarez Cabral lands & annexes Brazil (Terra da Vera Cruz).

Ref: 5

May 29

Bartholomeu Diaz de Narvaez (Novaez) Portuguese sea explorer, drowns.

Ref: 5

Aug 23

Christopher Columbus is arrested for mistreating the natives of Haiti.

Ref: 62

1501

Joao da Nova Castell, of Portugal, discovers the Ascension Islands.

Ref: 5

1502

Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro.

Ref: 5

May 21

Uninhabited St. Helena Island discovered by Portuguese navigator Admiral Joao da Nova

Ref: 5

1503

Jan 20

Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) found (Spain) to deal with American affairs.

Ref: 5

Christopher Columbus discovers the Cayman Islands.

Ref: 2

1504

Feb 29

Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the West, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.

Ref: 5

1506

May 19

Columbus selects his son Diego as sole heir.

Ref: 5

Christopher Columbus, explorer, dies in poverty in Spain at 55.

Ref: 68

1508

Aug 12

Ponce de Le�n arrives in Puerto Rico.

Ref: 5

1512

Feb 22

Amerigo Vespucci Italian explorer (America), dies at 61.

Ref: 68

Mar 27

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sights Florida.

Ref: 2

May 22

Amerigo Vespucci merchant, explorer; America named for him; dies.

Ref: 4

1513

Feb 08

Alonso de Ojeda Spanish explorer (Cura�ao & Bonaire), dies.

Ref: 5

Sep 25

Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean. He names it the South Sea, claiming it in the name of the King of Spain. (Gregory, Ruth W, "Anniversaries & Holidays" �1975, ISBN 0-8389-0200-6)

1517

Sir Thomas Pert reached Hudson Bay.

Ref: 5

1519

Feb 15

Pedro Men�ndez de Aviles explored Florida founded St Augustine FL, is born.

Ref: 5

1520

Hernando Cortes defeats Spanish troops sent against him in Mexico.

Ref: 2

Oct 21

Magellan enters the strait which bears his name.

Ref: 5

Nov 28

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

Ref: 70

1521

Mar 06

Ferdinand Magellan discovers Guam.

Ref: 2

Mar 16

Magelhaes' fleet discovers Zamal (Samar).

Ref: 5

Mar 16

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines, where he was killed by natives the following month.

Ref: 70

Mar 17

Ferdinand Magellan discovers the Philippines.

Ref: 5

Ferdinand Magellan is killed by Filipino natives in the Philippines at age 50, after getting involved in a dispute between local tribes.

Ref: 68

1522

Sep 06

One of the five ships that set out in Ferdinand Magellan's trip around the world (the Vittoria) makes it back to Spain. Only 15 of the original 265 men that set out survived. Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

Ref: 2

Sep 08

Spanish navigator Juan de Elcano returns to Spain, completes 1st circumnavigation of globe, expedition begins under Ferdinand Magellan. One ship, the Victoria, of five returns. Eighteen of 250 of the original sailors live to see home.

Ref: 22

1524

Giovanni de Varrazano of France sights land around area of the Carolinas.

Ref: 5

Giovanni Verrazano, a florentine navigator, discovers New York harbor.

Ref: 5

Dec 24

Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama -- who had discovered a sea route around Africa to India -- died in Cochin, India at about 55.

Ref: 68

1525

Aug 21

Estavao Gomes returns to Portugal after failing to find a clear waterway to Asia.

Ref: 2

1526

Jul 26

Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon and colonists leave Santo Domingo for Florida.

Ref: 2

Aug 04

Juan Sebastion Cano, Spanish explorer, dies.

Ref: 5

1527

May 17

P�nfilo de Narva�z departs to explore Florida.

Ref: 5

1528

P�nfilo the Narva�z begins exploration to with 350 men to Florida.

Ref: 5

1531

Rio de Janeiro (River of January), Brazil, is discovered by Portuguese navigators.

Ref: 17

1534

French navigator Jacques Cartier reaches Newfoundland

Ref: 2

Jun 09

Jacques Cartier first sails into mouth of St Lawrence River in Canada.

Ref: 5

1535

Mar 10

Bishop Tom�s de Berlanga discovers Gal�pagos Islands.

Ref: 5

Antonio Mendoza is appointed first viceroy of New Spain.

Ref: 2

May 19

French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail for North America.

Ref: 2

Jacques Cartier travels up the St. Lawrence River to Quebec.

1536

Feb 02

The Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain.

Ref: 70

Jul 06

Jaques Cartier returns to France after discovering the St. Lawrence River in Canada.

Ref: 2

1539

May 28

Hernando de Soto lands in Florida.

Ref: 5

May 30

Hernando de Soto lands in Florida with 600 soldiers in search of gold.

Ref: 2

Jun 03

Hernando De Soto claims Florida for Spain.

Ref: 2

Aug 08

Francisco de Ulloa sails from Acapulco, Mexico northward around the tip of Baja, California.

1540

Feb 23

Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado begins his unsuccessful search for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold in the American Southwest.

Ref: 2

1541

Feb 12

Santiago, Chile is founded.

Ref: 62

Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River which he calls Rio de Espiritu Santo.

Ref: 2

Aug 23

Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec on his third voyage to North America.

Ref: 2

1542

May 21

Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto died while searching for gold along the Mississippi River.

Ref: 68

Aug 24

Gonzalo Pizarro returns to the mouth of the Amazon River after having sailed the length of the great river as far as the Andes Mountains.

Ref: 2

Sep 28

Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed his ship at what we now call San Diego Bay. The site is marked with a monument, the Cabrillo National Monument, and some folks in CA still celebrate Cabrillo day. There�s a reason for that. Cabrillo was the first to find CA.

Ref: 4

1543

Jan 03

Juan Cabrillo conqueror of Central America, discoverer of California, dies.

Ref: 5

Apr 14

Bartoleme Ferrelo returns to Spain after discovering a large bay in the New World (San Francisco).

Ref: 2

1557

Jacques Cartier French explorer (Canada), dies at 65.

Ref: 5

Sep 01

Jacques Cartier, French explorer, dies.

Ref: 68

1559

Aug 14

Spanish explorer de Luna enters Pensacola Bay, Florida.

Ref: 2

1561

Sep 23

Philip II of Spain gives orders to halt colonizing efforts in Florida.

Ref: 2

1565

Sep 20

Pedro Menendez of Spain wipes out the French at Fort Caroline, in Florida.

Ref: 2

1567

Jul 03

Samuel de Champlain explorer (Lake Champlain), is born.

Ref: 5

1568

French forces in Florida slaughter hundreds of Spanish.

Ref: 2

1573

Feb 11

First European, Francis Drake sees the Pacific (from Panama).

Ref: 5

1574

Sep 17

Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spanish sailor and founder of St. Augustine, Fla., dies at age 55.

Ref: 70

1575

Sep 12

Henry Hudson of England, explorer, is born.

Ref: 17

1577

Dec 13

Sir Francis Drake of England set out with five ships on a nearly three-year journey that would take him around the world.

Ref: 5

1578

May 31

Italian archaeologist Antonio Bosio became the first man in modern times to rediscover the Christian catacombs in Rome. Researchers (e.g., Giovanni B. de Rossi) who followed him dubbed Bosio "the Columbus of the Catacombs."

Ref: 5

1580

Sep 26

Sir Francis Drake returns to Plymouth, England, aboard the Golden Hind, after a 33-month voyage to circumvent the globe.

Ref: 2

1581

Apr 04

Francis Drake completes circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.

Ref: 17

1583

Aug 05

Gilbert claims Newfoundland (1st English colony in North America).

Ref: 5

1584

Mar 25

Sir Walter Raleigh renews Humphrey Gilbert's patent to explore North America.

Ref: 5

1585

Jul 13

A group of 108 English colonists, led by Sir Richard Grenville, reaches Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

Ref: 2

1586

Jul 27

Sir Walter Raleigh brings first tobacco to England from Virginia.

Ref: 5

1588

Sep 10

Thomas Cavendish returns to England, becoming the third man to circumnavigate the globe.

Ref: 2

1590

Feb 26

Mauritius of Nassaus sails to Breda.

Ref: 5

1592

English explorer John Davis discovers the Falkland Islands.

Ref: 10

1593

Dec 10

Italian archaeologist Antonio Bosio first descended into the subterranean Christian burial chambers, located under the streets of Rome. Bosio was dubbed the "Columbus of the Catacombs," and his books long remained the standard work on the underground tombs of the early Roman Church.

Ref: 5

1595

Jul 21

Marquesas Islands discovered by Alvaro Mendana.

Ref: 10

1596

The first Dutch colonists arrive on Sumatra, Indonesia, an ancient trade center.

Ref: 17

Jan 28

English navigator Sir Francis Drake dies (at about age 50) off the coast of Panama; he was buried at sea.

Ref: 68

1598

Jacob van Necks merchant fleet departs for Java.

Ref: 5

Sep 09

A celebration was held for the newly completed Catholic church at San Juan de los Caballeros -- the first church erected in (what is today the state of) New Mexico. The town, founded this year by Juan de Onate, was a former Indian pueblo in the Chama River Valley.

Ref: 5

1603

Bartholomew Gilbert is killed in Virginia by Indians, during a search for the missing Roanoke colonists.

Ref: 2

1606

The original Jamestown settlers set sail from Blackwall, England. Ref

1607

Sep 28

Samuel de Champlain and his colonists return to France from Port Royal Nova Scotia.

Ref: 2

Dec 29

Indian chief Powhatan spares John Smith's life after the pleas of his daughter Pocahontas.

Ref: 2

1609

Mar 25

Henry Hudson embarks on an exploration for Dutch East India Co.

Ref: 5

Aug 28

Delaware Bay explored by Henry Hudson for the Netherlands.

Ref: 5

Sep 04

Navigator Henry Hudson discovers island of Manhattan (or 0911)

Ref: 5

Sep 11

Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan island.

Ref: 5

Sep 12

English explorer Henry Hudson sails into what is now NY Harbor aboard his sloop Half Moon.

Ref: 2

1610

Aug 03

Henry Hudson of England discovers a great bay on the east coast of Canada and names it for himself.

Ref: 2

1611

Jun 22

English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers.

Ref: 70

Jun 23

Henry Hudson presumed killed after he and his sone are set adrift in Hudson Bay by mutineers the previous day.

Ref: 17

1615

Jul 28

French explorer Samuel de Champlain discovers Lake Huron on his seventh voyage to the New World.

Ref: 2

1616

Jan 20

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrives to winter in a Huron Indian village after being wounded in a battle with Iroquois in New France.

Ref: 2

Jan 24

Jacques Le Maire discovers Street Lemaire/Cape Receiver.

Ref: 5

Jan 24

Cape Horn first rounded by Dutch navigator Willem Schouten; named Cape after his home town Hoorn.

Ref: 10

Mar 20

Walter Raleigh released from Tower of London to seek gold in Guyana.

Ref: 5

Oct 25

Dutch sailor/explorer Dirk Hartog lands on western coast of Australia.

Ref: 10

Dec 31

Jacques Le Maire pirate/explorer (Lemaire Strait), dies at 31.

Ref: 5

1617

Dec 16

Spanish viceroy Hernando Arias de Saavedra founds provinces R�o de la Plata (Argentina)/Guaira (Paraguay).

Ref: 5

1622

Jan 23

William Baffin British explorer, dies at about 38.

Ref: 5

1624

Spanish silver fleet sails to Panama.

Ref: 5

Admiral Hermites conquering fleet reaches Callao the Lima, Peru.

Ref: 5

May 13

Admiral Hermites fleet blockade Lima Peru.

Ref: 5

1630

Feb 14

Dutch fleet of 69 ships reaches Pernambuco Brazil.

Ref: 5

1634

May 04

Johan van Walbeecks fleet departs to West-Indies.

Ref: 5

1637

Jun 01

Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit missionary explorer, is born.

Ref: 70

1638

Cornelis S Goyer takes possession of Mauritius (uninhabited).

Ref: 5

1641

Oct 15

Paul de Chomedy de Maisonneuve claims Montreal.

Ref: 5

1642

Mar 12

Abel Tasman is first European in New Zealand.

Ref: 5

Nov 24

Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovers Tasmania, naming it Van Diemen's Land after Dutch governor.

Ref: 5

Dec 13

Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovers the south Pacific island group that later becomes known as New Zealand.

Ref: 3

1643

Nov 22

Robert La Salle, French explorer of North America, is born.

Ref: 70

Dec 22

Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle France, French explorer (Louisiana), is born.

Ref: 5

1645

Sep 21

Louis Joliet, explorer and discoverer of the Mississippi River, is born.

Ref: 62

1651

Feb 13

Flemish missionary Joris van Geel departs to Congo.

Ref: 5

1658

Mar 05

Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, soldier, founder of Detroit and governor of Louisiana, is born in France.

Ref: 5

1659

Feb 01

Jacob Roggeveen Dutch Swiss lawyer/navigator (Easter Island), is born.

Ref: 5

1673

May 17

Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi.

Ref: 5

Sep 21

James Needham returns to Virginia after exploring the land to the west, which would become TN.

Ref: 2

1675

May 18

Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit missionary explorer, dies at age 37.

Ref: 70

1677

Jan 18

John A van Riebeeck Dutch founder Cape Colony, dies at 57.

Ref: 5

1680

French explorer Sieur de la Salle builds Fort Cr�vecoeur.

Ref: 5

1682

Apr 09

Robert La Salle claims lower Mississippi River and all lands that touch it for France.

Ref: 2

1687

The French explorer Robert La Salle is murdered in by his own men, at age 43, while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Ref: 2

1697

Mar 20

Willem de Vlamingh returns to Batavia after exploring "South Land".

Ref: 5

George Baron Anson British Admiral/explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

1700

Feb 27

The Pacific Island of New Britain is discovered.

Ref: 2

1722

Apr 05

Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.

Ref: 5

1728

Samuel Wallis explorer (Wallis Island), is born.

Ref: 5

Oct 27

British sea captain and explorer, James Cook is born.

Ref: 4

1730

Dec 14

James Bruce, Scottish explorer of Ethiopia, is born.

Ref: 70

1733

Jan 13

James Edward Oglethorpe, a British philanthropist and member of the House of Commons, arrives at Charleston, South Carolina, with a group of 116 colonists to settle the British territory of Georgia.

Ref: 3

1739

J B C Bouvet de Lozier discovers Bouvet Island, near Antarctica.

Ref: 5

1741

Aug 20

Danish navigator Vitus Jonas Bering, commisioned by Peter the Great of Russia to find land connecting Asia and North America, discovers America.

Ref: 2

Vitus J Bering Dutch navigator/explorer, dies.

Ref: 68

1757

Jun 22

George Vancouver, surveyed Pacific coast from SF to Vancouver I, is born.

Ref: 5

1762

Dec 21

James Cook marries Elizabeth Batts.

Ref: 5

1768

May 25

Captain James Cook sets sail on first voyage of discovery-maps coasts of NZ & Australia.

Ref: 10

Aug 25

Captain James Cook sets sail on first voyage of discovery.

Ref: 10

1770

Apr 09

Captain James Cook discovers Botany Bay, S.E. Coast Australia.

Ref: 5

Apr 19

Captain James Cook first sees Australia.

Ref: 5

Apr 20

Captain James Cook discovers New South Wales, Australia.

Ref: 2

Apr 28

Captain James Cook in Endeavor lands at Botany Bay in Australia.

Ref: 5

Apr 30

David Thompson, English/Canadian explorer (Columbia River), is born.

Ref: 5

Captain James Cook, commander of the British ship "Endeavour," discovered the Great Barrier Reef off Australia by running onto it.

Ref: 5

Aug 22

Captain James Cook, having landed at Australia, claims it for the British Crown.

Ref: 4

1771

Samuel Hearne explores the Copper Mine River of Canada.

Ref: 5

1772

Feb 12

Yves de Kerguelen of France discovers Kerguelen Archipelago, India.

Ref: 5

1773

Jan 17

Captain James Cook's ship �Resolution' with 193 man crew becomes the first person to cross the Antarctic Circle (66� 33' S).

Ref: 2

1774

Captain Cook reaches 71� 10' S, 1820 km from S pole (record).

Ref: 5

1775

Jul 25

Captain Cook returns to England after second voyage-Sandwich Islands discovered.

Ref: 10

1776

Jul 11

Captain James Cook sails from Plymouth on his last voyage to try to find the Northwest Passage.

Ref: 10

The Dominguez-Escalante expedition begins.

Ref: 62

1777

Jan 02

Dominguez-Escalante expedition of the South West ends in Santa Fe, NM.

Ref: 62

Dec 08

Captain Cook leaves Society Islands.

Ref: 5

1778

Mar 07

Captain James Cook first sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay.

Ref: 5

Mar 15

In command of two frigates, the Frenchman la Perouse sails east from Botany Bay for the last lap of his voyage around the world.

Ref: 2

Mar 15

Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island is discovered by Captain Cook.

Ref: 5

Mar 22

Captain Cook sights Cape Flattery, in Washington state.

Ref: 5

Capt Cook passes through Bering Strait.

Ref: 5

Aug 18

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen first to circumnavigate Antarctica, is born.

Ref: 5

Nov 26

Captain Cook discovers Maui (in the Sandwich Islands).

Ref: 5

1779

Jan 05

Zebulon Montgomery Pike, the explorer who named, but never climbed Pike's Peak, is born.

Ref: 5

Jan 17

Captain Cook's last notation in ship's log Discovery.

Ref: 5

Feb 14

Captain James Cook, 50, the great English explorer and navigator, is murdered by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group.

Ref: 3

Aug 30

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen, the first man to circumnavigate Antarctica, is born.

Ref: 68

1786

Apr 04

John Franklin British explorer (Arctic), is born.

Ref: 5

Apr 16

Sir John Franklin, arctic explorer, is born.

Ref: 2

Jul 24

Jean-Louis Nicollet, French explorer, is born.

Ref: 2

First ascent of Mt Blanc.

Ref: 5

1787

Aug 24

James Weddell Ostend England, Antarctic explorer (Weddell Sea), is born.

Ref: 5

1788

May 18

Hugh Clapperton Annan Scotland, African explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

1789

Jun 03

Alex Mackenzie explores Mackenzie River (Canada).

Ref: 5

Oct 05

William Scoresby, British explorer, is born.

Ref: 70

1790

Apr 10

Capt. Robert Gray brings his ship Columbia to Boston Harbor becoming the first American to circumnavigate the globe.

Ref: 5

May 23

Jules-S�bastien-C�sar Dumont d'Urville explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

Sir William Edward Parry explorer: Arctic & Northwest Passage expeditions, is born.

Ref: 4

1792

The Columbia River and Grays Harbor are discovered by Capt. Robert Gray.

Ref: 5

British Captain George Vancouver sights, names Mount Rainier WA

Ref: 2

May 11

Columbia River discovered & named by US Captain Robert Gray.

Ref: 5

Jun 04

Capt George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for Britain.

Ref: 5

Jun 12

George Vancouver discovers site of Vancouver, BC.

Ref: 5

Oct 12

The first monument honoring Christopher Columbus is dedicated in Baltimore, MD.

Ref: 4

Nov 14

Capt. George Vancouver is the 1st Englishman to enter San Francisco Bay.

Ref: 5

[Andries] Hendrik Potgieter Cape Colony, settled Transvaal, is born.

Ref: 5

1793

Mar 28

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, American explorer and ethnologist; discovered source of Mississippi River, is born.

Ref: 70

1794

James Bruce, Scottish explorer of Ethiopia, dies at age 63.

Ref: 70

Nov 21

Honolulu Harbor discovered.

Ref: 5

1795

Apr 28

Charles Sturt England, explorered Australia, is born.

Ref: 5

May 22

Mungo Park sets sail on his first voyage to Africa.

Ref: 62

1798

George Vancouver British explorer, (Voyage of Discovery), dies at 40.

Ref: 5

1799

Jan 06

Explorer Jedediah Strong Smith is born. He helped to create Oregon Trail; was the 1st American to reach California by land, the 1st to travel Pacific Coast from San Diego to Canada by land.

Ref: 4

Aug 08

Nathaniel B. Palmer, American discoverer of the frozen continent of Antarctica, is born.

Ref: 68

1800

Apr 15

Sir James Clark Ross, Scottish explorer who located the Magnetic North Pole, is born.

Ref: 2

1804

Mungo Park leaves England seeking source of Niger River.

Ref: 5

1805

Jun 21

Great Stoneface Mt found in NH.

Ref: 5

1806

Nov 15

Explorer Zebulon Pike discovers the Colorado Peak that bears his name, despite the fact that he didn't climb it.

Ref: 2

1808

Jul 02

Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser R, BC, lands at Musqueam.

Ref: 5

1810

Jan 03

Antoine T d'Abbadie French explorer (Ethiopia), is born.

Ref: 5

1813

Jan 21

John C Fr�mont [Pathfinder], map maker/explorer (western US)/Governor (AZ), is born.

Ref: 5

Dec 09

Explorer George Evans discovers the Macquarie River in Australia.

Ref: 10

1815

May 24

George Evans discovers Lachlan River, Australia.

Ref: 5

1820

Johannes Rebmann, German missionary/explorer, is born.

Ref: 70

Edward Bransfield aboard Williams discovers Antarctica (UK claim).

Ref: 5

Feb 03

Elisha Kent Kane US arctic explorer (Kane Basin off NW Greenland), is born.

Ref: 5

Nov 18

Captain Nathaniel Palmer, aboard the Hero, a forty-four-foot sloop, becomes the first American to sight the continent of Antarctica.

Ref: 3

1821

Jan 28

Bellingshausen discovers Alexander Island off Antarctica.

Ref: 5

Feb 07

The first landing on the Antarctic continent is made by American John Davis at Hughes Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Ref: 3

Heinrich Barth Hamburg Germany, geographer/explorer (Central Africa), is born.

Ref: 5

Sir Richard Burton, explorer, writer, discoverer of Lake Tanganyika is born in Devon, England.

Ref: 5

Nov 16

Trader William Becknell reaches Santa Fe, N.M., on the route that will become known as the Santa Fe Trail.

Ref: 2

1823

English Captain James Weddell reaches 74� 15' S, 1520 km from South Pole.

Ref: 5

1824

Sep 20

Trapper Jim Bridger discovers the Great Salt Lake; thinks he's found Pacific Ocean.

Ref: 10

Nov 16

Longest river in Australia Murray River - discovered by Hamilton Hume.

Ref: 10

1826

Nov 27

Jebediah Smith's expedition reaches San Diego, becoming the first Americans to cross the southwestern part of the continent.

Ref: 2

1827

John Hanning Speke, English explorer, is born.

Ref: 2

May 04

John Hanning Speke, English explorer, is born.

Ref: 2

1829

Jan 09

Adolf von Schlagintweit German explorer (Tarimbekken), is born.

Ref: 5

Feb 09

Adolf von Schlagintweit German explorer (Tarimbekken), is born.

Ref: 5

1831

Apr 14

Gerhard Rohlfs, German explorer/ambassador in Abyssinia, is born.

Ref: 5

May 27

Explorer Jedediah Strong Smith dies. He helped to create Oregon Trail; was the 1st American to reach California by land, the 1st to travel Pacific Coast from San Diego to Canada by land.

Ref: 4

Jun 01

Sir James Clark Ross, an English navigator and explorer, discovered the magnetic North Pole while on his Arctic exploration. (Correction provided by Dick Wood)

Ref: 4

Dec 28

HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, departs from Plymouth. She will eventually visit the Galapagos Islands where Darwin will form his theories on evolution.

Ref: 2

1832

Jul 13

US Indian agent and explorer Henry Schoolcraft stumbled upon the source of the MS River. Its 2,552-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico begins at Lake Itasca, Minnesota.

Ref: 4

Nov 18

Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskjold Sweden, Arctic explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

John Kirk Barry Scotland, Dr/companion to explorer David Livingstone, is born.

Ref: 5

1833

May 05

Ferdinand von Richthofen German geographer/explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

1835

Oct 17

Alexandrine-Pieternella-Francoise Tinn� explored the White Nile, is born.

Ref: 5

1838

Apr 18

The Wilkes' expedition to the South Pole sets sail.

Ref: 2

1839

Mar 31

Nikolay Przhevalsky naturalist, explorer of east central Asia, is born.

Ref: 5

1840

Jan 19

Antarctica discovered, Charles Wilkes expedition (US claim).

Ref: 5

Jan 20

Dumont D'Urville discovers Ad�lie Land, Antarctica.

Ref: 5

American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica.

Ref: 5

Mar 26

Birth of George Smith, famed English Assyriologist. During several expeditions to the site of ancient Nineveh, (1873-74), Smith unearthed over 3,000 cuneiform tablets, including one which told the story of an ancient deluge, similar to Noah's Flood.

Ref: 2

Mar 28

Mehemed Emin Pasja German explorer/Governor (Equatoria), is born.

Ref: 5

Edward Whymper, artist and mountaineer, first man to climb the Matterhorn (1865), is born.

Ref: 2

Dec 09

Scottish missionary explorer David Livingstone, 27, set sail on his first journey to Africa. under the London Missionary Society two years earlier.).

Ref: 5

1841

Jan 05

James Clark Ross (UK) is the 1st to enter pack ice near Ross Ice Shelf.

Ref: 5

Jun 10

George Wallace Melville, US naval engineer, arctic explorer, is born.

Ref: 17

Jul 30

George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer, is born.

Ref: 5

Jul 31

George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer, is born.

Ref: 5

1843

May 29

Fr�mont expedition under John C. Fr�mont leaves Kansas City to survey route to Oregon.

Ref: 10

1844

Mar 27

Adolphus Washington Greely US, Arctic explorer, is born. US Army General Greely was a Medal of Honor recipient, decorated by Great Britain and France to acknowledge his numerous contributions to telecommunications; General Greely was an outstanding soldier/communicator to whom Greely Hall, Fort Huachuca, Arizona was rededicated in a bicentennial year, observance on 21 June 1976; His nineteen year service as Chief Signal Officer (1887-1906) represents the longest continuous period an incumbent has occupied

Ref: 5

1845

Jul 20

First white man enters Simpson's desert, Central Australia (Charles Stuart).

Ref: 10

1847

John C. Fremont, the famed "Pathfinder" of Western exploration, is appointed governor of California.

Ref: 2

Apr 01

Jules-Nicolas Crevaux French explorer (South America), is born.

Ref: 5

Sir John Franklin, English rear admiral and explorer, dies at age 61.

Ref: 70

1851

Yosemite Valley discovered in California.

Ref: 5

1852

Jan 25

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen, the first man to circumnavigate Antarctica, dies.

Ref: 68

Jan 26

Pierre Brazza explorer/colonial administrator (French Africa), is born.

Ref: 5

Dec 16

Andries H Potgieter South African/Transvaal explorer, dies at 59.

Ref: 5

1853

May 31

Elisha Kane's Arctic expedition leaves New York aboard the Advance.

Ref: 5

1854

Oct 18

Salomon Andree explorer: ill-fated North Pole expedition: killed in July 1897 attempt to drift across North Pole in hot-air balloon, is born.

Ref: 4

1855

Nov 16

Missionary/explorer David Livingstone discovers, and names after his Queen, Victoria Falls.

Ref: 10

1856

May 06

Robert Edward Peary, arctic explorer and the first man to reach the North Pole (on April 6th, 1909), is born.

Ref: 2

1857

Feb 10

David Thompson, English explorer and fur trader in western Canada and the United States dies at age 87.

Ref: 70

Elisha Kent Kane Arctic explorer (Kane Basin), dies at 37.

Ref: 5

William Scoresby, British explorer, dies at age 67.

Ref: 70

1858

Feb 13

Sir Richard Burton & John Speake explore Lake Tanganyika, Africa.

Ref: 5

Mar 08

Lake Victoria is discovered by Captain Speke.

Ref: 62

Aug 03

Captain John Speke discovers Lake Victoria in Africa, which he recognizes as the source of the White Nile.

Ref: 17

1859

May 06

Friedrich Heinrich Alexander explorer/scientist, dies.

Ref: 5

Jul 05

Capt NC Brooks discovers Midway Islands.

Ref: 5

Sep 16

David Livingston discovers Lake Nyasa.

Ref: 10

1860

Explorer John Stuart reaches center of Australia.

Ref: 10

1862

Apr 03

James Clark Ross Arctic explorer, dies.

Ref: 5

Apr 19

Simon Fraser Canadian explorer, dies.

Ref: 5

1864

Sep 15

John Hanning Speke, English explorer, dies.

Ref: 17

Dec 10

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, American explorer and ethnologist; discovered source of Mississippi River, dies at age 71.

Ref: 70

1865

Feb 19

Sven Anders Hedin explorer, geographer: Tibetan region; is born.

Ref: 4

1866

Aug 08

Matthew Henson explorer: North Pole expedition [1908-09 w/Robert Peary]; is born. (Though some recent scholarship disputes this claim)

Ref: 4

1868

Jun 06

Robert Falcon Scott leader of ill-fated south polar expedition, is born.

Ref: 5

1869

Aug 01

First voyage down Colorado River.

Ref: 5

1870

Johan Peter Koch Danish officer/explorer (Greenland), is born.

Ref: 5

Heinrich Schliemann discovers Troi.

Ref: 5

1871

Jan 06

Henry M Stanley of the New York Herald, arrives in Zanzibar to begin his search for Dr. David Livingstone, missing since 1867.

Ref: 17

New York Herald reporter Henry Morton Stanley sets out for the interior of Africa with a caravan of much-needed medicine in search of David Livingstone, a British missionary doctor.

Ref: 2

Nov 10

Following seven months of searching, foreign correspondent to the "New York Herald" Henry M. Stanley succeeded at last in locating Scottish missionary David Livingstone in Ujiji, Central Africa. Stanley prefaced his encounter with these words: 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume.'.

Ref: 5

Dec 13

Russell W Porter VT, explorer (Alaska), is born.

Ref: 5

1872

Mar 14

New York Herald reporter Henry Morton Stanley leaves Africa, after finding David Livingstone. Livingstone refuses to leave.

Ref: 2

Jul 16

Roald Amundsen Norway, explorer, discovered South Pole, is born.

Ref: 5

Dec 07

HMS Challenger sets sail on 3�-year world oceanographic cruise.

Ref: 5

1873

Boyd Alexander English explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

Jan 29

Luigi A duke of the Abruzzes, Italy, explorer/climber (Mt St Elias), is born.

Ref: 5

Jun 14

Discovery of the ruins of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann.

Ref: 10

1874

Feb 15

Ernest H Shackleton Kilkee Ireland, explorer (Endurance, Antarctica), is born.

Ref: 5

Apr 16

Dr David Livingstones corpse arrives in Southampton.

Ref: 5

Apr 18

In England, the remains of Scottish missionary David Livingstone (who had died the previous year in Africa at age 60) were interred in London's Westminster Abbey.

Ref: 5

1875

Nov 07

Verney Cameron becomes the first European to cross equitorial Africa from sea to sea.

Ref: 5

1876

May 26

HMS Challenger returns from 128,000-km oceanographic exploration.

Ref: 5

Oct 04

Johannes Rebmann, German missionary/explorer, dies at age 56.

Ref: 70

1877

Jun 21

Nathaniel B. Palmer, American discoverer of the frozen continent of Antarctica, dies.

Ref: 68

Charles William Beebe, naturalist who explored the ocean depths in a bathysphere, is born.

Ref: 2

1879

Jan 09

Kirland Warbler discovered on Andros Island in Bahamas.

Ref: 5

Feb 09

Kirland Warbler discovered on Andros Island in Bahamas.

Ref: 5

Feb 10

Henry Morton Stanley departs to the Congo.

Ref: 5

Nov 03

Vilhjalmur Stefansson Canada, Arctic explorer/ethnologist, is born.

Ref: 5

1880

May 12

Lincoln Ellsworth, led first transarctic, transantarctic flights, is born.

Ref: 5

1881

Henry Morton Stanley signs contract with Congolian monarch

Ref: 2

Dec 03

Henry M Stanley finds Leopoldville/Kinshasa.

Ref: 5

1882

Philips C Visser Dutch explorer/diplomat, is born.

Ref: 5

Dec 14

Henry Morton Stanley returns to Brussels from the Congo.

Ref: 5

1883

Feb 01

French Lieutenant-Colonel Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes reaches Bamako on the Niger.

Ref: 5

Feb 07

Lieutenant-Colonel Borgnis-Desbordes founds Fort Bamako Niger.

Ref: 5

1884

Mar 17

Frank Buck, US jungle explorer, is born.

Ref: 17

Oct 09

Martin Elmer Johnson explorer/photographer, is born.

Ref: 5

1885

Apr 03

H. St. John Philby, nglish explorer of Arabian peninsula, is born.

Ref: 70

1886

Jun 18

George Mallory explorer, mountain climber: last seen in 1924 climbing Mt. Everest �Because it is there.�; Mallory�s body found on Everest at 27,000' May 1, 1999.

Ref: 4

1887

Dec 05

Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo.

Ref: 5

1888

Oct 25

Polar explorer Richard E. (Evelyn) Byrd is born.

Ref: 4

Oct 31

Sir George Hubert Wilkins Aust, polar explorer (Flying the Arctic), is born.

Ref: 5

Stanley's expedition reaches Fort Bodo, East-Africa.

Ref: 5

1889

Dec 04

Stanley's expedition reaches Bagamoyo in Indian Ocean.

Ref: 5

1890

Jan 10

Cleopatra's tomb discovered.

Ref: 10

Jul 13

John Charles Fremont, American soldier, mapmaker/explorer and politician, dies at the age of 76.

Ref: 70

Oct 20

Sir Richard Burton, English explorer, writer, discoverer of Lake Tanganyika, dies at age 69.

Ref: 70

Dec 18

Lugards expedition to Mengo/Kampala, Uganda.

Ref: 5

1892

Henry Walter Bates, naturalist and explorer of South America, is born

Ref: 5

1893

Dec 30

Samuel White Baker English explorer, dies at 72.

Ref: 5

1894

Mar 27

Verney L Cameron English explorer (Tanganyika), dies at 49.

Ref: 5

1896

Jun 02

Gerhard Rohlfs, German explorer; journeyed across deserts of North Africa, dies at age 65.

Ref: 70

1897

Antoine T d'Abbadie French explorer (Ethiopia), dies at 87.

Ref: 5

May 12

1800-1900 year old fossil of "girl of Yde" found in Drente Netherlands.

Ref: 5

1898

Jul 03

Joshua Slocum completes first solo circumnavigation of the globe.

Ref: 5

Jul 22

Belgica crew see first sunrise in 1600 hrs-1st to endure Antarctic winter.

Ref: 5

1900

Mar 16

Sir Arthur Evans finds old city of Knossus.

Ref: 5

1903

Ella Maillart explorer, is born.

Ref: 5

1905

Apr 29

Pierre de Brazza lands in Libreville Gabon.

Ref: 5

May 15

Pierre de Brazza reaches Leopoldville.

Ref: 5

1908

Apr 21

Frederick A Cook claims to reach North Pole (He didn't).

Ref: 5

Jul 06

Robert Peary's expedition sails from NYC for the north pole.

Ref: 5

1909

Jan 09

A Polar exploration team lead by Ernest Shackleton reaches 88�, 23' south longitude, 162� east latitude. They are 97 nautical miles short of the South Pole, but the weather is too severe to continue. Polar dreams, polar disappointments

Ref: 2

One of Ernest Shackleton's polar exploration teams (David, Mawson & Mackay) reaches the Magnetic South Pole.

Ref: 2

Feb 09

Ernest Shackleton reaches 88�23' south.

Ref: 5

Mar 23

British Lt. Ernest Shackleton finds the magnetic South Pole.

Ref: 2

Apr 06

Explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson became the first men to reach the North Pole. (The claim, disputed by skeptics, was upheld in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation.).

Ref: 4

Sep 06

American explorer Robert Peary sent word that he had reached the North Pole five months earlier.

Ref: 5

Dec 21

University of Copenhagen rejects Cook's claim that he was first to North Pole.

Ref: 5

1910

Apr 02

Boyd Alexander English explorer (Niger to the Nile), murdered at 37.

Ref: 5

Jacques-Yves Cousteau France, oceanic explorer aboard Calypso, is born.

Ref: 68

1911

Jan 13

Roald Amundsen anchors at Walvis Bay.

Ref: 5

May 16

Remains of a neanderthal man found in Jersey UK.

Ref: 5

Sep 16

Edward Whymper, arctic explorer, English artist and mountaineer; first man to climb the Matterhorn, dies at age 71.

Ref: 68

Oct 20

Roald Amundsen sets out on race to South Pole.

Ref: 5

Oct 24

Robert Scott's expedition leaves Cape Evans for South Pole.

Ref: 5

Dec 14

Roald Amundsen and four companions and 52 dogs are the first to reach the South Pole just 35 days ahead of Captain Robert F. Scott of England.

Ref: 4

1912

Jan 18

After a two-month ordeal, the expedition of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrives at the South Pole only to find that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by just over a month. The ill-fated explorers ran out of provisions and died 11 miles from base camp.

Ref: 3

Feb 15

Fram reaches latitude 78� 41' S, farthest south ever by ship.

Ref: 5

Edgar Evans British explorer (Antarctica), dies.

Ref: 5

Feb 17

L Oates British explorer (Antarctica), dies.

Ref: 5

Mar 07

Roald Amundsen announces discovery of the South Pole.

Ref: 5

Mar 17

George Wallace Melville, US naval engineer, arctic explorer, dies.

Ref: 17

Mar 29

Captain Robert Scott, blizzard-bound in a tent 18 km from the South Pole, makes last entry in his diary "the end cannot be far".

Ref: 5

Dec 18

Discovery of Piltdown Man announced, later discovered to be a hoax.

Ref: 10

1913

Feb 10

The bodies of Captain Scott and his companions are found after their tragic attempt to return from the South Pole

Ref: 18

1914

Oct 06

Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian entomologist and adventurer whose Kon-Tiki expedition established the possibility that Polynesians may have originated in South America, is born.

Ref: 4

1916

Dec 01

Charles E Vicomte de Foucauld French explorer, dies at 58.

Ref: 5

1919

Jul 20

Sir Edmund Hillary one of first 2 men to scale Mt Everest, is born.

Ref: 5

1920

Robert E Peary, US pole explorer (North Pole, 6/4/1909), dies at 63.

Ref: 5

1922

Jan 05

Sir Ernest Shackleton Antarctic explorer (Endurance), dies aboard his ship at 47.

Ref: 5

John Kirk Barry Dr/explorer David Livingstone's companion, dies at 89.

Ref: 5

Jul 28

Jacques Piccard Switzerland, undersea explorer (bathyscaph Trieste), is born.

Ref: 5

Nov 25

Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter, archeologists, open King Tut's tomb, undisturbed for 3,000 years.

Ref: 2

Nov 29

King Tut's tomb opened

Ref: 62

1923

The burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt by Howard Carter.

Ref: 5

1924

Feb 13

King Tut's tomb opened.

Ref: 5

1925

Feb 12

E Thieffry departs with Handley Page for the Belgian Congo.

Ref: 5

May 21

Roald Amundsun leaves Spitsbergen with 2 seaplanes to North Pole.

Ref: 5

1926

First flight over North Pole (Bennett & Byrd)

Ref: 2

May 14

Explorers Roald Admunsen and Lincoln Ellsworth fly over Alaska after crossing the North Pole in the dirigible "Norge". ("May 14, Your Birthday", Natalis Press, �1990)

1928

Jan 13

Johan Peter Koch Danish officer/explorer, dies at 57.

Ref: 5

Jun 18

Roald Amundsen, Norwegian explorer; the first to reach the South Pole, dies at age 55.

Ref: 70

Jun 22

Roald Amundson, explorer, discoverer of the South Pole is lost at sea while flying rescue mission to airship Italia stranded in the arctic.

Ref: 4

Aug 25

Admiral Byrd's Antarctic Expedition leaves New York City on way to South Pole.

Ref: 10

1929

Nov 28

Adm Richard E Byrd makes first South Pole flight.

Ref: 5

Nov 29

Lt Cmdr Richard E Byrd sends "My calculations indicate that we have reached the vicinity of the South Pole" (He was wrong).

Ref: 5

1930

Jan 22

Admiral Richard Byrd charts a vast area of Antarctica.

Ref: 2

Charles William Beebe, of the NY Zoological Society, dives to a record-setting depth of 1,426 feet off the coast of Bermuda, in a diving chamber called a bathysphere.

Ref: 2

1933

Dec 21

Knud J V Rasmussen Danish Pole explorer (Thule), dies at 54.

Ref: 5

1934

Aug 16

US explorer William Beebe descends 3,028' (1922 m) in Bathysphere.

Ref: 5

1935

Karoline Mikkelson is first woman on Antarctica.

Ref: 5

1936

Jan 14

American explorer Lincoln Ellsworth and Canadian pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon are rescued by the research ship Discovery II. The pair had made the first flight across Antarctica, 2,300 miles from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea, landed when their plane's engine faltered, and waited in the previously constructed shelter at Little America for a month to be picked up.

Ref: 2

1939

Nov 10

Bob Marshall, Alaskan explorer, dies,.

Ref: 62

1940

Sep 08

Marcel Ravidat discovers entrance to Lascaux cave in Montignac, France. Paintings revealed 9/12.

Ref: 10

1941

Jan 21

First commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater, Freeport TX.

Ref: 5

1944

May 13

Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw British explorer/genealogist, is born.

Ref: 5

1947

Feb 27

Paul-Emile Victor French polar expeditions organized.

Ref: 5

Aug 07

The balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki, which had carried a six-man crew 4,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean, crashed into a reef in a Polynesian archipelago.

Ref: 70

Nov 23

E. L. Sukenik of Jerusalem's Hebrew University first received word of the existence of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The documents, dating between 200 BC and AD 70, had been accidentally discovered the previous winter (1946_47) by two Bedouin shepherds in the vicinity of Qumran.

Ref: 5

1950

Mar 25

Frank Buck, US jungle explorer, dies.

Ref: 17

1951

May 26

Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer, engineer and scientist, dies at age 71,

Ref: 70

1952

The first airplane to land at the geographic location of the North Pole did so on this day.

Ref: 4

Nov 26

Sven Anders Hedin explorer, geographer: Tibetan region; dies.

Ref: 4

1954

Sep 04

First passage of McClure Strait, fabled Northwest Passage completed.

Ref: 5

1955

Mar 09

Matthew A Henson met Peary on 6/4/1909 at North Pole, dies at 88.

Ref: 5

Philips C Visser explorer/ambassador to Moscow, dies.

Ref: 5

1956

A new range of mountains discovered in Antarctica (2 over 13,000').

Ref: 5

Jacques Cousteau's Calypso anchors in 7,500 m of water (record).

Ref: 5

Oct 31

George J. Dufek of Admiral Robert Byrd�s expedition party became the first American to land by air at the South Pole.

Ref: 4

1957

Mar 11

Richard E. Byrd, U.S. aviator, American naval officer and explorer who made the first flight over the North Pole, dies at age 68.

Ref: 2

1958

Jan 03

Sir Edmund Hillary reaches South Pole overland.

Ref: 5

Mar 02

British geologist Dr. Vivian Fuchs reached McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea, thus completing the first crossing of Antarctica by land. As a part of the International Geophysical Year, the Commonwealth of Nations organized the expedition, which covered 2,158 miles (3,473 kilometers), in 99 days.

Ref: 4

Dec 01

Sir George Hubert Wilkins, Australian-born British explorer, dies at age 70.

Ref: 70

1960

Jan 23

Piccard & Walsh in bathyscaph "Trieste" reach 10,900 meters (over 35000 feet) in Mariana Trench.

Ref: 5

Captain Edward L. Beach begins what will be an 84-day voyage around the world, underwater, in the 7,750-ton submarine Triton. The 41,500 mile voyage will follow a route similar to Magellan's.

Ref: 4

Apr 25

The first submerged circumnavigation of the Earth is completed by a Triton submarine.

Ref: 2

Captain Edward L. Beach completes an 84-day voyage around the world, underwater, in the 7,750-ton submarine Triton. The 41,500 mile voyage followed a route similar to Magellan's.

Ref: 4

Sep 30

H. St. John Philby, English explorer of Arabian peninsula, dies at age 75.

Ref: 70

1961

Feb 24

Paleontologist Louis Leakey finds the bones of an eleven-year-old hominid child, believed to be a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens in the Oldavi Gorge in what is now Tanzania.

Ref: 2

Apr 24

The Vasa, which sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, is raised.

Ref: 5

Aug 20

Vilhjalmur Stefansson Arctic explorer, dies at 82.

Ref: 5

1963

Erling Kagge Norway, explorer (South Pole), is born.

Ref: 5

Jan 28

Jean Felix Piccard swiss explorer, dies on his 79th birthday.

Ref: 5

1966

Jan 04

Reconstruction work begins on the ancient ABU Simbel temples in Egypt, salvaged during the construction of the Aswan Dam.

Ref: 17

1969

May 29

Britain's Trans-Arctic expedition makes first crossing of Arctic Sea ice.

Ref: 5

Jul 08

Thor Heyerdahl & reed raft Ra II land in Barbados 57 days from Morocco.

Ref: 5

1970

Israeli archaeologists reported uncovering the first evidence supporting the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by military forces of the ancient Roman Empire.

Ref: 5

May 17

Thor Heyerdahl crosses the Atlantic on reed raft Ra.

Ref: 5

1971

Apr 05

Fran Phipps is first woman to reach North Pole.

Ref: 5

1978

Naomi Uemura became first to reach North Pole overland alone.

Ref: 5

1981

Jan 11

British team led by Ranulph Fiennes completes longest & fastest crossing of Antarctica, reaching Scott base after 75 days (2,500 miles).

Ref: 5

1982

Mar 20

U.S. scientists return from Antarctica with the first land mammal fossils found there.

Ref: 2

1984

Dec 04

The discovery of a Bronze Age shipwreck off the southern coast of Turkey was announced by the National Geographic Society. The find dated back to when King Tutankhamen (Tut, to you) ruled Egypt.

Ref: 4

1985

Sep 02

It was announced that a US-French expedition had located the wreckage of the "Titanic" about 560 miles off Newfoundland.

Ref: 70

1986

Will Stegers expedition reaches North Pole.

Ref: 5

1987

Aug 13

Fossil bones discovered in Texas in 1984 are proclaimed to be the remains of possibly the world's oldest birds.

1988

Apr 06

North pole explorer Matthew Henson buried next to Robert Peary in Arlington.

Ref: 5

Nov 11

Oldest known insect fossils (390 million years) reported in Science.

Ref: 5

1989

Jan 17

Victoria Murden & Shirley Metz are first women to reach South Pole overland (on skis).

Ref: 5

5 pharoah sculptures from 1470 BC found at temple of Luxor.

Ref: 5

Feb 24

150-million-year-old fossil egg (oldest dinosaur embryo) found.

Ref: 5

1991

Sep 22

Calif University makes the Dead Sea Scrolls public.

Ref: 5

1992

Dec 17

General Suwa finds tooth of 4.4 million year old Australopithecus ramidus.

Ref: 5

1993

May 16

Farmer Sugeng finds 1.2 million year old Pithecanthropus IX skull

Ref: 5

1994

Apr 22

B�rge Ousland reaches North pole.

Ref: 5

Dec 18

Enormous underground cavern with Stone Age murals discovered in mountains of southern France.

Ref: 10

1995

Mar 07

Paul-Emile Victor French pole explorer, dies at 87.

Ref: 5

1996

Feb 21

Terence Edward Armstrong polar geographer, dies at 75.

Ref: 5

Dec 15

Laurens jan van der Post explorer/conservationist, dies at 90.

Ref: 5

1997

Jan 18

Norwegian Borge Ousland completed the first solo crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole. Ousland travelled 1,675 miles and was the first to traverse the continent alone.

Ref: 4

May 27

First all female (20 British women) team reaches North Pole.

Ref: 5

Jun 25

Jacques-Yves Cousteau marine explorer: PBS-TV producer; co-inventor of Aqua-Lung; dies at age 87.

Ref: 68

1999

Oct 16

A NY Air National Guard plane rescued Dr. Jerri Nielsen from a South Pole research center after she'd spent five months isolated by the Antarctic winter, which forced her to treat herself for a breast lump.

Ref: 70

2002