Human race evolved by permanently enlarging its horizons. Step by step, one destination to another, we grew in knowledge, in boldness and in precision. We dared more, we dreamed further, we did not look back. We did it all. The great men who were there showed the way to all mankind. This is a tribute to those champions of the world who made it possible… Hoping that the Days of the Great Expeditions are not over yet and there is still much more to come, we present you the list of the 5 Greatest Explorers of All Time.
Neil Armstrong
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The first man on the moon
Neil Armstrong was born in 1930. He was passionate with flying machines since an early age and after having served in the Korean War he became a test pilot. Afterwards, he joined NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. As the commander of Appolo 11, he left Earth on the day of July 20th 1969 with destination the Moon.
His quest was of exploring the lunar surface for 2 hours and 30 minutes and to collect data. The mission was a success. Even though some believe that the whole experience was actually a fake, this expedition remains the greatest achievement of men up to this moment.
Christopher Columbus
The discovery of America
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was a navigator born in the Republic of Genoa. He was a venturous person who had had many other successful expeditions before departing for India in 1492. After being rejected by rulers of Portugal and of Genoa and Venice, King Ferdinand of Spain finally granted him permission and most importantly, resources, in order to start his journey.
Columbus never found the new route to India he was looking for. Instead, he changed the face of the world when he set foot on the shore of the New World on October 10th 1492.
Ferdinand Magellan
First Circumvolution of Earth
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He served king Ferdinand of Spain as a navigator and his task was that of finding a new Western route to Spice Islands (known today as Maluku Islands in Indonesia). He left Spain with 5 ships and 250 men in 1519 and traveled in westward direction only. The expedition lasted three years but at the end of it, Magellan was not alive anymore. Unfortunately, he was killed in a battle in Philippines on April 27th 1521. The remaining men decided to continue navigating towards west and in 1522, the expedition returned to Spain with 18 men left alive and one ship still floating, after the first circumvolution of Earth.
Sir Edmund Hillary
First conquest of Everest
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (1919-2008) was a great explorer and a philanthropist. The expedition he is famous for took place in 1953. This was a team effort which evolved 400 people, from which most (362) were porters. Hillary and his partner Tenzing Norgay were the only ones to reach the top.
Hillary find the way which permitted them to climb all the way to the summit and even though , out of modesty and respect for his partner, Hillary declared him and his partner reached the top in the same time, Tenzing admitted the Hillary was the first on mount Everest.
Roald Amundsen
First Antarctic Expedition to Reach the South Pole
Roald Amundsen (1872- 928) is known for being the leader of the Antarctic expedition that reached the South Pole for the first time. He is also the first man to have seen both South and the North Pole. He was born in a rich family of ship-owners and he was destined to become a doctor.
However, his passion was explorations and he dreamed of a life full of adventures. The South Pole expedition took place between 1910 and 1912. He did not plan it from the beginning. Amundsen was actually set on conquering North Pole, but after hearing news of other explorers having already reached it, he reoriented towards Antarctica.