Explorers & leaders
- Learn more about famous naturalist Charles Darwin and his voyage aboard the Beagle from 1831-36.
- 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...
- The hero of Peter Weir's 2003 film, Master and Commander, is based on real life exploits of Thomas Cochrane. Find out more about one of the most...
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