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Famous Explorers

Can you name these famous explorers in history?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: June 4, 2020
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First submittedJuly 13, 2012
Times taken30,919
Average score54.5%
Rating4.60
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What
Nationality
Explorer
"Discovered" the New World
Genoan
Christopher Columbus
Credited for first circumnavigation of the Earth, but he died along the way
Portuguese
Ferdinand Magellan
European discovery of Hawaii and eastern Australia
English
James Cook
First person to walk on the Moon
American
Neil Armstrong
Established settlement of Vinland, in modern day Canada
Norse
Leif Ericson
Privateer who led the world's 2nd circumnavigation
English
Francis Drake
Traveled through China and met Kublai Khan
Venetian
Marco Polo
Colonized Virginia and searched for the mythical "City of Gold"
English
Walter Raleigh
Explored the area around modern-day New York City
while looking for the Northwest Passage
English
Henry Hudson
First sea voyage from Europe to India
Portuguese
Vasco da Gama
Admiral who sailed a "treasure fleet" of over 300 ships from China
to Africa and Arabia
Chinese
Zheng He
First European to cross the isthmus of Panama
Spanish
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Explored the Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia
English
George Vancouver
Surveyed the Louisiana Purchase
American
Meriwether Lewis
William Clark
Led the first expedition to the South Pole
Norwegian
Roald Amundsen
Explored the deep sea and helped develop the Aqua-Lung
French
Jacques Cousteau
Explored the interior of Africa and was found by Stanley
Scottish
David Livingstone
Co-first climber to reach the top of Everest
New Zealand
Edmund Hillary
Nepalese
Tenzing Norgay
Led the first European expedition to Florida, said to be
looking for the Fountain of Youth
Spanish
Juan Ponce de León
First European to reach Tasmania and New Zealand
Dutch
Abel Tasman
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100 Recent Comments
NekroNeko
+1
Level 26
May 15, 2013
I kept spelling Vasco De Gama incorrectly. Started with Da Garma :S
aliberti68
+1
Level 54
Aug 5, 2013
Missed 4. Great quiz. Should have gotten Balboa and Hillary. Wouldn't have remembered Tasman and never heard of Norgay...
joeythelemur
+12
Level 83
Nov 14, 2016
Hillary and Norgay are a pair, summited Everest together and never revealed (nor seemed to care) which one of them was 'first'. I'm a little surprised that people would know one and not the other.
Guam
+1
Level 60
Mar 13, 2019
Most evidence suggests that Hillary did summit first, and some websites reference an interview in which he said so. However, you are certainly correct in that no one should know one and not the other.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 89
Oct 11, 2019
Hilary will obviously be foremost in the history books. It was his trip. Not to knock Norgay's abilities, but he never would've done that if he hadn't been paid to go.
SeaNomad
+13
Level 78
Oct 14, 2019
But Tenzing would probably been ABLE to do it without Hillary, if he had had a reason. Hillary couldn't have reached even close without Tenzing or someone else like him.
nerdalert
+2
Level 86
Apr 28, 2020
If Tenzing Norgay had the ability to climb the highest mountain in the world but didn't, then does he deserve to be on a list of the greatest explorers? Not taking away from Norgay as much as I am making a case for Hillary.
Teegthebeeg
+8
Level 54
Jun 5, 2020
Neither would have been able to do it without the help of rest of the team, and they were both very vocal about that.
Cooldrive
+1
Level 64
Jun 5, 2020
I can understand being dismayed, but not surprised.
ConradBrunstrom
+4
Level 79
Apr 7, 2021
Tenzing and Hillary climbed together. They were roped together. The issue of whose boot touched the summit first is irrelevant to such climbing partners.
thegrasswren
+1
Level 27
Feb 4, 2014
Great quiz. Please do more! :)
Beefcake
+1
Level 42
Apr 27, 2014
Missed Leif Ericsson because of the spelling. My understanding is the double-s is accepted if not correct. Great quiz :)
VargPOD
+9
Level 70
Jun 2, 2014
You should also accept Magalhaes (Magellans name in his native language, portuguese).
Cooldrive
+2
Level 64
Jun 5, 2020
No one gives a damn except weenies.
BlackJohn
+11
Level 75
Jun 14, 2020
Ah, a typical american ignorant comment.
ixQuizzer69Remiksxi
+1
Level 10
Mar 18, 2015
Shout out to my boi Captain James Cook
IsleAuHaulte
+6
Level 89
Oct 11, 2019
Shoot me.
Gosuman
+3
Level 45
Mar 18, 2015
You should have Juan Sebastian Elcano, the second in command of Magellan and who took the leadership of the expedition after the portuguese died in Indonesia (or Philippines?), so was the first guy who really did the circumnavegation of Earth.
rawe
+1
Level 66
Mar 18, 2015
Agree with this.
ander217
+4
Level 75
Mar 18, 2015
Some think Majellan's slave Enrique was possibly the first, although he did it in stages and there is no proof that after Majellan's death Enrique actually made it the few hundred miles back to his home from which he was taken.
CardinalSin
+2
Level 78
Oct 9, 2018
I understood that it was the cook who had previously travelled East who actually completed it first. But I agree with quizmaster that Magellan should get the credit.

Great quiz. Forgot Ponce de Leon but got the rest.

DonTheLamplighter
+4
Level 85
Jun 11, 2020
Wouldn't the guy closest to the bow as the ship pulled into port be considered the first one? :-P
Pluto666
+2
Level 51
Mar 18, 2015
eriksson should be allowed
Thorvald
+4
Level 70
Mar 24, 2015
I'd say that even Eiriksson should be allowed, as this is probably the closest to the original spelling
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 89
Oct 11, 2019
It should be allowed for first European to discover Canada. It was no big secret the Vikings had been there.
rawe
+2
Level 66
Mar 18, 2015
Can you accept Magallanes for Magellan?
Elan
+1
Level 65
Mar 18, 2015
Every single street in my neighborhood is named after an explorer, so that's what helped me a lot on this quiz.
Guam
+6
Level 60
Mar 13, 2019
You must live in an interesting neighborhood.
thecoolestdude2
+4
Level 68
Mar 18, 2015
WAY too Anglo-centric.
79curl
+3
Level 42
Apr 22, 2015
As opposed to the majority of the quizzes on here which are WAY too American, you mean...?
brandybuck96
+10
Level 83
Jan 27, 2016
We had a lot of explorers. Probably why we conquered quite a chunk of the world.
DonTheLamplighter
+1
Level 85
Jun 11, 2020
Boom!
nerdalert
+1
Level 86
Apr 28, 2020
By all means, provide some alternative questions. Or even better, make your own quiz. We'd all probably learn something.
NapoleonBonaparte
+2
Level 65
Jun 14, 2020
I agree thecoolestdude2. There are many other important explorers of other nationalities. Why is Drake put up there for being the 2nd to circumnavigate the globe? Since when has 2nd been an accomplishment?
ChaosLord
+3
Level 75
Jun 14, 2020
Right, like how Napoleon came 2nd at Waterloo.
NapoleonBonaparte
+2
Level 65
Jun 14, 2020
Well played, although I don't think Napoleon is famous only because of his defeat at Waterloo.
BlackJohn
+2
Level 75
Jun 14, 2020
The English worship Drake, even though he was essentially a pirate and a slave trader, not to say that his expeditions weren't important. That being said, a lot of them don't even know he wasn't the first one to circumnavigate the globe.
5teveB
+2
Level 59
Jun 16, 2020
What do you mean we worship Drake?

He's most famous here for defeating the Armada but I don't think anyone is even that fussed about that. I guess there might be a statue of him somewhere but I don't know where it is.

spingospungo
+1
Level 57
May 16, 2022
On a bowling green?
martay
+2
Level 70
May 16, 2022
While Magellan did the heavy lifting navigating around South America (as well as putting down a very serious mutiny before doing so), he died rather needlessly in the Philippines. His ship and some of his crew did make it back to Spain, but he did not. It was Juan Sebastian Elcano who led the one remaining ship (of the original 5) and crew home (<20 of the original 250+).

So, in a sense, Drake is the first to fully captain a circumnavigation, but he was only able to do so because of Magellan's prior expedition and he only reluctantly crossed the Pacific because he was unable to find a more northern passage back to the Atlantic having sailed as far up the coast as California in search of one.

zimbabwe12
+3
Level 52
Mar 18, 2015
Vespucci and Cecil Rhodes really need to be on this quiz
drLuigi
+1
Level 45
Mar 20, 2015
I agree on Vespucci. Both Americas were named upon this guy.
CardinalSin
+8
Level 78
Oct 9, 2018
The least said about Cecil Rhodes, the better.
IsleAuHaulte
+6
Level 89
Oct 11, 2019
Have you seen the company he'd be keeping on this list? Strange to single him out.
CardinalSin
+1
Level 78
Jul 16, 2021
ihaveanewname, not sure who you are thinking of here. OK none of them were saints (with the possible exception of Livingstone) and Drake was a bit of a pirate, but I don't think that any of them even get close to the evils of Rhodes, whose doctor plied Lobengula with morphine (to treat gout) until he was so addicted that he practically sold them his kingdom.
BolyaiAnna
+2
Level 82
Jun 4, 2020
maybe Jacques Cartier as well
Ramster
+1
Level 71
Mar 19, 2015
New Zealand is not a nationality...
Quizmaster
+18
Level ∞
Jun 4, 2020
You're not a nationality.
DonTheLamplighter
+1
Level 85
Jun 11, 2020
LOL! Nearly spit my drink out.
xXViolaXx
+1
Level 67
May 17, 2022
Nationality refers to the political state from which someone originates. I'm American because I was born in the USA. There is not a strict ethnicity associated with White New Zealanders. If you were to say New Zealander as an ethnicity, that would have to refer to the Maori, the natives that were grossly mistreated by Captain Cook, and the British in general.
Elan
+1
Level 65
Dec 11, 2015
All of the streets in my neighborhood are named after explorers, so that may have been a small help.
tzhg
+2
Level 59
Jun 14, 2020
You already said that before.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 71
Jun 18, 2020
yea but that was early a year earlier. not like he said it twice the same instance.

I often forget I have taken a quiz before, once I take it I usually remember, but I definitely don't remember a lot of the times if I have left a comment or not. (But I do read the comments before I post one, usually. So I go like OW I already said the exact thing I wanted to say this time. Or wow I really didn't know that back then??)

Findlay
+3
Level 82
Aug 29, 2016
Ernest Shackleton and Zheng He would enrich this quiz, I feel.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Jun 4, 2020
Added Zheng He.
ShnevorSomeone
+1
Level 61
Mar 15, 2018
missed drake lol
divantilya
+1
Level 36
Apr 13, 2018
Alonso de Ojeda and his crew were the first to "discover" Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Isla Margarita and Venezuela (and probably a few other places that they didn't get credit for) .
IPS
+3
Level 66
Jun 25, 2018
I think Conbo (Ligurian) and Colombo (Italian) should be accepted for Columbus since he was Ligurian.
Vlaaij
+2
Level 77
Aug 16, 2019
Kind of sad that I only knew Ponce de Leon because I watched too many Pirates of the Caribbean-movies...
Zaakna
+1
Level 51
Nov 12, 2019
If you make a part 2 you could include dutch explorer Jan van Riebeeck, the first European to explore Cape Good Hope.
Tonikk
+2
Level 62
Nov 16, 2019
I don't know if in english it works the same way, but in italian a person from Genoa is called 'genovese' (in english: genoese), a genoano (genoan) is a Genoa football team supporter.
camus
+1
Level 78
Jun 4, 2020
Genoese seems to be preferred.
Nikhaz
+9
Level 75
Jun 4, 2020
Very Anglo-centric, maybe consider adding explorers like Sacajawea and Ibn Battuta?
Rade
+1
Level 90
Jun 5, 2020
And Cabral.
Teegthebeeg
+1
Level 54
Jun 5, 2020
Ibn Battuta was a fascinating character but not an explorer. He visited the further reaches of the known Islamic world.
Nikhaz
+7
Level 75
Jun 5, 2020
I only mentioned Ibn Battuta because he came to mind when I saw Marco Polo on this quiz. I don't see why one can be on the quiz but not the other.
spingospungo
+1
Level 57
May 16, 2022
Because Polo was travelling to places that weren't known to his culture. That's literally what an explorer is. Ito Mancio would be a better candidate than Ibn Battuta for a non-European.
JWatson24
+1
Level 71
May 16, 2022
@Teeg, how is he not an explorer? Battuta traveled to places outside the Islamic world, including Russia, Turkey (which at the time was still largely Christian), and China. India is debatable because it was under Muslim rule but still majority non-Muslim. And even looking at the places in the Islamic World he traveled, there was a lot of diversity: Morocco, Egypt, Arabia, Iran, the Swahili Coast, the Mali Empire, etc. I'd say he's just as much of an explorer as Marco Polo, if not more.
Arp2600
+3
Level 86
Jun 7, 2020
Once again... it's Jacques-Yves Cousteau, not just Jacques...
khamba6
+8
Level 81
Jun 14, 2020
You should include Ibn Battuta
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Jun 14, 2020
I was going to say this.
ander217
+2
Level 75
Jun 14, 2020
I know you can't include them all but I was surprised not to see Cortes, Pizarro, Bering, and De Soto.
Jeremy
+3
Level 75
Jun 14, 2020
Yep, definitely surprised not to see Cortez.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
Jun 14, 2020
I was looking for Kirk, Picard, and Dora.
GreatDane
+1
Level 64
May 16, 2022
Thank you, Ander217, for mentioning fellow Dane Bering.
stalintime
+3
Level 77
Jun 14, 2020
Nice quiz! What about a part 2 with Ingolfur Arnarson, Vitus Bering and Ibn Battuta?
FranckMee
+1
Level 66
Jun 14, 2020
Please accept Colombo.
Chronikhiles
+2
Level 49
Jun 15, 2020
What does Sri Lanka have to do with this?
Sifhraven
+2
Level 71
Jun 18, 2020
I think he meant the cigar smoking inspector ;)

(yes that is with an U..)

quizfalcon4002
+4
Level 51
Jun 14, 2020
It's Leif Erikson, not Leif Ericson!
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
Jun 14, 2020
Technically it's Leif, Eric's son
DavidClaro
+1
Level 60
Jun 16, 2020
Why the strong focus on English explorers? Where is Afonso Albuquerque? Bartolomeu Dias? Pedro Álvares Cabral?
Bamsesvenner
+2
Level 73
Feb 1, 2021
They are dead. Make your own quiz if you want to make one not so anglo-centric.
Sheimpaolo
+1
Level 22
Jun 16, 2020
You should add info to Magellan, he died in Mactan, Philippines.
Froststar101
+1
Level 73
Jun 17, 2020
Spelling: Vasco da Gama
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jun 18, 2020
Fixed
AllenY
+1
Level 69
Nov 23, 2020
Why is He provided for Zheng He? Couldn't it just fill it all in as "Zheng He" once "Zheng" is typed-in?
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Jan 30, 2021
I tried Hobart but not Tasman 🤦‍♂️
TheWombat
+1
Level 73
Feb 10, 2022
Hobart was named for Lord Hobart, who's only exploring was done around the pubs and whorehouses of Whitehall. He certainly never came here.
spingospungo
+2
Level 57
May 16, 2022
When asked why he did that, he just looked into the middle distance, ice-cold chips in his eyes, and said "because they were there"
Ferbin
+1
Level 76
May 16, 2022
I don't get this obsession with Livingstone and Stanley. I would say they're rather obscure, historically speaking, and yet they're in quite a few number of quizzes.
jbro
+1
Level 69
May 18, 2022
Isn't someone from New Zealand called a New Zealander.
stevediverse
+1
Level 89
May 18, 2022
Only if you're being nice.
stevediverse
+2
Level 89
May 18, 2022
You should accept Jethro Tull for Aqualung
MrMagoo
+2
Level 84
May 23, 2022
May 16th is also National Mimosa Day in the US. I consider it a travesty that JetPunk passed the opportunity to celebrate.
AbiA
+1
Level 85
Jan 13, 2023
Disappointed that Ponce did not suffice.
Conor46
+1
Level 72
Nov 10, 2023
Just Leif on its own should be accepted as a type in in my opinion. Eriksen/Ericson/Ericsson is a patronymic, not a surname.
Laosmouse
+1
Level 45
Dec 20, 2023
Columbus didn't discover the new world. He thought he was in Indiana and killed over one billion Native Americans.
brandybuck96
+1
Level 83
Feb 3, 2024
India?
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