| A | B |
| Robert de LaSalle | claimed the Mississippi River for France |
| Ponce de Leon | claimed and named Florida for Spain |
| Christopher Columbus | made the first European land claims in the New World |
| Henry Hudson | a bay and river are named after him |
| Fransisco Coronado | claimed land in what is now the southwest US for Spain |
| Hernan Cortes | conquered the Aztecs and took their gold |
| Jacques Cartier | made France's first land claims in the New World |
| John Cabot | made England's first land claims in North America |