Exploration
In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East. In the process, they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.
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These fast ships and navigational tools aided European sailors between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Columbus's famed voyage to the New World was celebrated by Italian-Americans, in particular, as a pathway to their own acceptance in America.
The discovery of Ernest Shackleton's ship at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea recalls a grueling expedition when men endured entrapment, hunger, frigid weather, angry seas—and near madness.
The encounter between the Spanish explorer and Aztec king changed the course of history. But the story has long been told from one side.
Matthew Henson Conquers the North Pole
Matthew Henson Conquers the North Pole
Robert Peary is famous as the first explorer to officially reach the North Pole, but Matthew Henson might deserve just as much credit.
3 Famous Explorers
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These gripping tales recount survival in Earth’s coldest realms.
James Beckwourth was born into slavery, but forged a life as a 19th-century pioneer in the American West.
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan set off on an audacious journey around the globe.
The reality of his journey is a bit more complicated.
Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian seafaring warriors who left their homelands from around 800 A.D. to the 11th century, and raided coastal towns. Over the next three centuries, they would leave their mark on much of Britain and the European continent, as well as parts of modern-day Russia, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.
Centuries passed before people colonized the Ecuadorian archipelago.
These are main theories surrounding what happened to the legendary aviator and her navigator.
From hot-air balloons floating over Paris to a dirigible crashing over New Jersey, here are some of the biggest moments of aviation history.
Analysis of Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, suggests it was never really ready for an Antarctic expedition.
The discovery of Ernest Shackleton's ship at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea recalls a grueling expedition when men endured entrapment, hunger, frigid weather, angry seas—and near madness.
Christopher Columbus was an explorer who stumbled upon the Americas and whose journeys marked the beginning of centuries of transatlantic colonization.
