List of famous explorers, with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top explorers in the world? This includes the most prominent explorers, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable explorers is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic explorers were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned explorers.
Items here include everything from Meriwether Lewis to Christopher Columbus.
From reputable, prominent, and well known explorers to the lesser known explorers of today, these are some of the best professionals in the explorer field. If you want to answer the questions, "Who are the most famous explorers ever?" and "What are the names of famous explorers?" then you're in the right place. (173 items)
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian filmmaker, inventor, engineer, philanthropist, and deep-sea explorer who has directed the two biggest box office films of all time. He first found major success with the science-fiction hit The Terminator. He then became a popular Hollywood director and was hired ...more
Age: 62
Birthplace: Kapuskasing, Canada
Profession: Environmentalist, Television producer, Film Producer, Screenwriter, Inventor, + more
Credits: Aliens, Titanic, Avatar, Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Also Ranked
#31 on The Greatest Directors in Movie History
#65 on Celebrities You Would Not Want as a Stepdad
#12 on The Greatest Living Directors, Ranked List
#25 on The Most Overrated Directors of All Time
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Charles Augustus Lindbergh, nicknamed Slim, Lucky Lindy, and The Lone Eagle, was an American aviator, author, inventor, military officer, explorer, and social activist. As a 25-year-old U.S. Air Mail pilot, Lindbergh emerged suddenly from virtual obscurity to instantaneous world fame as the result ...more
Age: Died at 72 (1902-1974)
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
Profession: Pilot, Inventor, Author, Peace activist, Explorer, + more
Credits: Charles A. Lindbergh: Hero of the Air
Also Ranked
#40 on Famous Role Models We'd Like to Meet In Person
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Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction writer, science writer and futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He is perhaps most famous for being co-writer of the screenplay for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, widely considered to be one of the ...more
Age: Died at 91 (1917-2008)
Birthplace: Minehead, Eurasia, West Somerset, South West England, United Kingdom, + more
Profession: Novelist, Inventor, Author, Actor, Writer, + more
Credits: 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010, The Colours of Infinity, Childhood's End
Also Ranked
#3 on The Best Science-Fiction Authors
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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer, citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages, and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of ...more
Age: Died at 55 (1451-1506)
Birthplace: Genoa, Italy
Profession: Navigator, Sailor, Explorer
Also Ranked
#41 on The Most Influential People of All Time
#93 on The Most Important Leaders in World History
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