Explorers & leaders

In 1497 John Cabot tried to find a shorter route to Asia. Find out about Cabot and his son and their achievements.

What did Columbus want to do? Why did he want to sail west? And what exactly did he find?

Find out about Captain James Cook, 18th century explorer and navigator. Cook's achievements in mapping the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia...

Francis Drake was an experienced and daring seafarer. Among many adventures, the 'famous voyage', his successful circumnavigation of the world...

The Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan was the first navigator to sail around the World.

Sir John Franklin was an officer in the Royal Navy and an Arctic explorer. Although he took part in the great sea battle of Trafalgar, he is best...

Horatio Nelson had a passionate belief in his ability to become a hero. His victories and great courage caught the public imagination, and he was...

Tsar Peter I of Russia is more usually described as 'Peter the Great'. As a young man, he travelled to Europe in 1697-8 to study new developments in...

During his own lifetime, Walter Ralegh (Raleigh) was one of the best-known men in England. He was a courtier, politician, soldier, seaman, explorer,...

In 1901-04 Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) was the first person to explore Antarctica extensively by land.

After Captain Scott died during an attempt to reach the South Pole in 1912, Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) chose to tackle the challenge of...

Lincolnshire-born explorer Matthew Flinders is revered in Australia but almost unknown in his homeland, partly because he lived in the shadow of...