Biographies of Explorers

Daniel Boone is one of those figures in American history whose life often intertwines with myths and legends. While numerous tall tales surround this American adventurer, many of his greatest feats are actually true. They are not merely artifacts of...

Ernest Shackleton was not just a great explorer—he was also a great commander. When the chips were down, he could always be depended upon to put others ahead of himself. Shackleton knew how to push the limits until he was able to exceed well above...

Hernán Cortés, the famed Spanish conquistador, had always dreamed of becoming the next Christopher Columbus. Little did he suspect that he would surpass his hero as he settled various islands and marched into the heart of Mexico to conquer the Aztec...

The association of the name James Cook with ideas of seafaring adventure and discovery is truly an indelible one. Even if you do not know the details of this extraordinary man’s life, you can probably avow that he left a unique stamp on history. In...

Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, was a great explorer of far and unfamiliar lands. He traveled the world in order to find things that no one else had seen—but what did he really discover? The stories that he told upon his return to his homeland of the...