| A | B |
|---|
| Leif Erickson | Viking explorer who sailed from Greenland to North America in A.D. 1000 |
| Marco Polo | Italian explorer who visited Asia in the late 1200's. He wrote a famous book about his travels |
| Christopher Columbus | Italian explorer who sailed for Spain. He was searching for a western route to Asia but reached islands near the Americas. |
| Giovanni Caboto | Italian explorer, also known as John Cabot, who explored Newfoundland for the English |
| Amerigo Vespucci | Italian explorer who made several voyages to South America. The man America was named after. |
| Vasco Nunez de Balboa | Spanish explorer who reached the Pacific Ocean in 1513. |
| Ferdinand Magellan | Portuguese explorer who led an expedition to sail west to Asia in 1519. His expedition was the first to sail around the world. |
| Juan Ponce de Leon | Spanish explorer who claimed what is now Florida for Spain in 1513. He spent years searching for a "Fountain of Youth." He was the first explorer to set foot on land that became part of the United States. |
| Hernando Cortes | Spanish conquistador who led a group that defeated the Aztec in what is now Mexico. |
| Marco de Niza | A priest who went on a expedition in search of the "Seven Cities of Gold." |
| Estevanico | African slave who went on an expedition in search of the "Seven Cities of Gold". |
| Francisco Vasquez de Coronado | Spanish explorer who led an expedition through southwest North America searching for the "Seven Cities of Gold". |
| Francisco Pizarro | Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire |
| Hernando de Soto | Spanish explorer who led an expedition through southeastern North America. |
| Giovanni da Verazano | Italian explorer who explored what is now New York Bay |
| Jacques Cartier | French explorer who explored the eastern coast of what is now Canada. He was the first explorer to reach the St. Lawrence River. |
| Henry Hudson | English explorer who claimed a large area of what is now New York for the Dutch. He explored and named the Hudson River and the Hudson Bay. |
