Rich and famous, these are the characteristics of an explorer. Out of the various places they have traveled, they have a proper finance system, and a crew that documents all their adventures and journeys. Are you a fan of the famous explorers of the world? Their names have reached almost all countries worldwide, telling the story of their every journey and achievements. They have been featured in famous and popular magazines, and some have even became celebrities, famous and wealthy in Hollywood, and their respective countries. Here are the top ten most popular world explorers to date.
10. SOPHIE TUCKER
Sophie Tucker was born in Russia by the name Sonya Kalish. She is a very popular American singer in the 20th century, popular for her risqué songs. Most of her career, she was a singer and an actress, a comedian, and a radio personality. By her rising success, she has been privileged to perform for King George V and Queen Mary in year 1926. She is a member of the American Federation of Actors, later on had a career in radio commentating. She died due to a lung and kidney illness on year 1966, she was 79 years old.
9. LAIKA
Ne we are not talking about a female human explorer, we are talking about The Laika that happens to be the first ever animal to have been sent to space, and the first animal to ever experience orbiting the Earth. Laika was originally named as Kudrayavka, she is a stray dog from Moscow. She was trained along with several other dogs, and was selected out of the many to be the first space dog to orbit the Earth. At that time, there was still not enough study to guarantee the survival of any life force to orbit, that’s why engineers chose animals instead of sending humans. Laika’s survival was not guaranteed and she died hours after the launching, her cause of death was ruled out to be overheating. This paved the way for lanching humans in space using human spaceflight.
8. NEIL ARMSTRONG
After Laika, came the experience and turn of humans to set foot into space, having said that, Neil Armstrong is the very first man to walk in the moon. Armstrong was not only an astronaut; he was also a naval aviator, an aerospace engineer, and also a professor in a university. His first mission in his career as an astronaut was the Gemini 8, and then followed by the Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong was awarded with two prestigious awards for his work and performance; these awards are the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
7. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
He was awarded with his knighthood in 1581 by Elizabeth I of England. He is a captain, a navigator, a slaver, and a politician. He served as the second in command of the English ship army during the war between England and Spain. He was well praised in England, also considering him as a hero, but to the eyes of the Spaniards, he was a pirate and a criminal. He was dubbed as “El Draque”, and was hunted by many due to the high bounty that King Philiph II issued in exchange for his life.
6. JACQUES COUSTEAU
His real name is Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and not only was he an explorer; he was a naval officer, conservationist, innovator, scientist, and a researcher of all things pertaining to life in the ocean/water. Aside from that, he is also a film maker, an author, and a photographer. He is one of the developers of the Aqua-Lung. He was awarded with the National Geographic Society’s Special Gold medal in year 1961, and was honored to be a member of the Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia in year 1990.
5. SIR EDMUND HILLARY
Aside from being an explorer, he is a mountaineer, and a philanthropist, hailing from New Zealand. Along with two other mountaineers, Hillary is one of the three who have been known to first reach the summit of Mt. Everest that was part of the 9th British Expedition to Everest. He was an appointed Knight Commander of the British Empire, appointed in the Order of New Zealand, and was also appointed Knight Companion of The Most Noble Order of the Garter. He is included in Time’s magazine 100 Most Influential People of the 20th century.
4. CAPTAIN ROBERT SCOTT
His complete name is Robert Falcon Scott, and he is Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Aside from being an explorer, he is a Royal Navy officer who led the expeditions, Discovery Expedition ( The expedition to the Antarctic regions), and the Terra-Nova Expedition. He was considered as a hero, and people regarded his failed expedition to misfortune. He died during his last expedition to South Pole due to exhaustion, starvation, and the cold temperature.
3. MARCO POLO
Almost all of history subjects, you would really hear his name being mentioned. Marco Polo is an Italian traveller. His travels were documented in the book Livres des Merveilles du Monde. He was influenced by his Uncle and his father, both who have met Kublai Khan when they travelled in Asia. Marco Polo joined his father and his Uncle in a journey through Asia. His travels have very much influenced the next famous travellers in the world such as Christopher Columbus. Marco Polo was the first to introduce European cartography, which led to the creation of Fra Mauro Map.
2. CAPTAIN COOK
Adding to the list of many British explorers is Captain James Cook. Not only was he an explorer, he was also a navigator, a cartographer, and captain of the Royal Navy. Before his voyages to the Pacific Ocean, he has made a map of the Newfoundland. He voyaged to the Pacific Ocean three times, and reached the coast of Australia, the islands of Hawaii, and he was the first to circumnavigate New Zealand. He died during a fight with some Hawaiians, and his travels and journeys have served as inspirations and guide to the future travellers of the 20th century.
1.CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Inspired by the travels of his predecessors, Christopher Columbus has led a number of four voyages in the Atlantic Ocean which led to the discovery of the Europeans of the American continents. He was as well known to have spread the religion Christianity during his voyages across different continents. He worked for European countries and was also well supported by the Spanish empire. His voyage in 1492, which was originally to reach in Japan, was not made because he landed in a locale in the Bahamas which he called as San Salvador. He went on to make voyages claiming places/territories for the Spanish Empire. He was dismissed as the Governor on the settlements of the Island of Hispaniola due to his bad relationship with the Spanish crown and appointed colonial administrators.
