| A | B |
|---|
| Columbus | sponsored by Spain to cross the Atlantic in 1492 |
| Giovanni Caboto | first English expedition west from Europe |
| Amerigo Vespucci | determined 'New World' was not Asia |
| Marco Polo | early European explorer of Asia |
| Vasco Nunez de Balboa | first European to reach the Pacific sailing west |
| Ferdinand Magellan | leader of the first expedition to sail around the world |
| Martin Waldseemuller | German mapmaker named America |
| Henry VII | King who sponsored first English expedition |
| Ponce de Leon | searched for 'Fountain of Youth'; explored and named Florida |
| Hernando Cortes | conquered the Aztec empire of today's Mexico |
| Francisco Coronado | explored the Southwest of today's U.S. looking for cities of gold |
| Hernando de Soto | got rich conquering Incas and explored the Southeastern half of today's U.S. |
| Martin Luther | started the Reformation of the Catholic Church leading Spain to spread religion in the New World |
| Giovanni da Verrazano | sailed from North Carolina to Newfoundland looking for Northwest Passage for France |
| Jacques Cartier | unsuccessfully searched for gold along the St Lawrence River |
| Henry Hudson | claimed ares in (now) New York for Holland |
