* Christopher Columbus: Sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 and reached the Americas, he was searching for a new route to India.
* Ferdinand Magellan: Led the first circumnavigation of the world, which began in 1519 and was completed by his crew in 1522.
* Vasco da Gama: Was a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach India by sea, in 1498.
* John Cabot: An Italian explorer who sailed for England and claimed the North American mainland for the English crown in 1497.
* Samuel de Champlain: A French explorer who founded Quebec City in 1608 and played a key role in the development of New France.
* David Livingstone: A Scottish explorer and missionary who traveled extensively in Africa in the 19th century and helped to bring attention to the slave trade.
* Roald Amundsen: A Norwegian explorer who was the first person to reach both the North Pole (in 1926) and the South Pole (in 1911).
* Edmund Hillary: A New Zealander who, along with Tenzing Norgay, became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, in 1953.