Explorers
From SEDSWiki
List of explorers who explored our planet or explored the Universe from Earth. A small celebration of the International Year of Planet Earth on SEDS.
| Name | Years | in brief |
|---|---|---|
| Sir George Biddell Airy | 1801-1892 | English scientist who as Astronomer Royal (1835-81) completely re-equipped the Royal Greenwich Observatory and modernized its system of astronomical measurements |
| Sir John William Alcock | 1892-1919 | English aviator, who with Sir Whitten Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919. |
| Buzz Aldrin | 1930 - | American pilot and astronaut,second person to land on the moon |
| Roald Amundsen | 1911-1988 | Norwegian explorer, first to reach the South Pole in 1911. |
| Edward Victor Appleton | 1892-1965 | English physicist who discovered a region of ionized gases in the atmosphere (Appleton layer) |
| Neil Armstrong | 1930 - | American astronaut, first man to step foot on the moon |
| Aryabhata | 476 - 550 | Indian astronomer and mathematician, made studies related to motions of planets, eclipses, sidereal periods and suggested heliocentrism |
| Vasco Nunez de Balboa | 1475-1519 | Spanish explorer, first European to see the Pacific Ocean |
| Jean Batten | 1909-1982 | New Zealand aviator, first woman to fly from England to Australia and back (1934-1935) |
| Vitus Bering | 1681-1741 | Danish navigator and explorer |
| Louis Bleriot | 1872-1936 | French aviation pioneer, first to fly across the English Channel in a monoplane in July, 1909 |
| Tycho Brahe | 1546-1601 | Danish astronomer, who measured the position of stars, motions of planets and comets with unprecedented precision. |
| Brahmagupta | 598-668 | Indian mathematician and astronomer, methods for calculating the position of heavenly bodies over time (ephemerides), their rising and setting, conjunctions, and the calculation of solar and lunar eclipses. He also observed that the Earth and heaven were spherical and that the Earth is moving. |
| Wernher Magnus Maximillian von Braun | 1912-1977 | German-born American rocket engineer who pioneered work which resulted in US Space Programme |
| Sir Arthur Whitten Brown | 1886-1948 | Scottish aviator - made the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight |
| Robert O'Hara Burke | 1820-1861 | Irish explorer, led first expedition from south to north across Australia but died on the return journey |
| Richard Byrd | 1888-1957 | American explorer and aviator, first to fly over South Pole in 1929. |
| John Cabot | 1450-1498 | Italian explorer and navigator, who sailed from Bristol in 1497 in search of Asia but in fact discovered mainland of North America. |
| William Clark | 1770-1838 | American explorer, who with Meriwether Lewis travelled across the North American continent |
| Christopher Columbus | 1451-1506 | Italian-born Spanish Explorer, reached the Carribean in 1492 and South American mainland in 1498 |
| Captain James Cook | 1728-1779 | English explorer, lead many voyages to Pacific and charted the coast of New Zealand and east coast of Australia claiming it for Britain. |
| Nicolaus Copernicus | 1473-1543 | Polish astronomer, who proposed that the planets orbit around the sun. |
| Sir Samuel Cunard | 1787-1865 | pioneer of regular trans-atlantic passenger service |
| Sir Malcolm Campbell | 1885-1948 | English motor-racing driver, became first to exceed land speed of 300 mph/483 kph |
| Samuel de Champlain | 1567-1635 | French Explorer, established the settlement in Qubec in 1608 |
| Sir Francis Chichester | 1901-1972 | English yachtsman, first person to sail around the world in his yacht, Gipsy Moth IV in 1966-67 |
