If it were not for the brave and courageous explorers, the New World would have never been discovered. Thanks to these men who want to go where no man had gone before that many new lands and places were discovered.

Some of the famous explorers who we owe a lot to are as follows:

Christopher Columbus: He was born in Portugal and was adamant that he would find India. This prompted his to sail across the Atlantic and that is how he landed on the shores of America mistaking it for India. Today, his mistake is overlooked and he is credited for opening up avenues for the Europeans in the unknown Western hemisphere.

Hernando de Soto: He was another well known Spanish explorer who was responsible for discovering the Mississippi River.

Sally Ride: While it is always men who are given the credit for being fearless explorers, Sally was an exception. She was an astronaut and the first woman from the US to orbit around the Earth. She is credited with completing 2 flights on board the Challenger.

Henry Hudson: The Hudson River gets its name from Henry Hudson, who discovered it. He also discovered Chesapeake Bay and Cape Cod while he was trying to find a new passage to the Orient and East for the Dutch East India Company.

Samuel de Champlain: He was from France and devoted most of his time traveling through modern day France. His voyages were funded by Henry IV, the king of France. Champlain was trying to find a passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, but could not. He established the city of Quebec and spent the rest of life living with the natives there.

Similarly, there are several other famous explorers like Sir Francis Drake, Marco Polo, Sir Walter Raleigh, Vasco da Gama, Amerigo Vespucci and many more.

Kum Martin is an online leading expert in biography and history. He also offers top quality articles like:
Henry Kissinger Biography, Mikhail Gorbachev Timeline http://www.famouspeoplebiographyguide.com/leader/mikhail-gorbachev/index.html.