* Prince Henry the Navigator: Sponsored many expeditions, including those of Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias.
* Vasco da Gama: First European to reach India by sea (1498).
* Bartolomeu Dias: First European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope (1488).
2. Spain
* Christopher Columbus: Discovered the Americas (1492).
* Ferdinand Magellan: First to circumnavigate the world (1519-1522).
* Juan Ponce de León: Discovered Florida (1513).
* Hernán Cortés: Conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico (1519-1521).
* Francisco Pizarro: Conquered the Inca Empire in Peru (1532-1533).
3. England
* John Cabot: Explored the coast of North America (1497).
* Walter Raleigh: Founded the first English colony in North America (Roanoke Colony, 1585).
* Henry Hudson: Explored the Hudson River and Hudson Bay (1609-1610).
4. France
* Jacques Cartier: Explored the St. Lawrence River and founded Quebec (1534).
* Samuel de Champlain: Founded Quebec City and explored the Great Lakes (1603-1635).
* René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle: Explored the Mississippi River (1682).