| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
! Name
! Modern (and former) nationality
! Centuries
! Main areas explored |
| António de Abreu
| Portuguese | 16th
| Indonesia |
| Francisco Zeimoto
| Portuguese | 16th
| Japan |
| Thomas Wyndham
| English
| 16th
| West Africa |
| Sir Richard Guildford
| English | 16th
| Mediterranean Sea |
| William Adams
| English | 17th
| Japan |
| Diogo Afonso
| Portuguese
| 15th
| Northwest African coast |
| Estevanico
| Moroccan | 16th
| North America |
| Crispin Agnew
| Scottish
| 20th
| Greenland, Elephant Island, Northern Patagonian Icefield, Himalayas |
| Charles Albanel
| French | 17th
| Canada (interior) |
| Afonso de Albuquerque
| Portuguese | 16th
| Asia |
| Buzz Aldrin
| American | 20th
| The Moon |
| Pero de Alenquer
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Indian Ocean |
| Alexander the Great
| Greek (Macedonian)
| 4th BC
| Indus River, Hindu Kush |
| Jean Alfonse (João Afonso)
| Portuguese-French | 15th/16th
| Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, possibly Australia; Brazil, North America |
| Benedict Allen
| English | 20th/21st
| various |
| Diego de Almagro
| Spanish | 16th
| Peru, Chile |
| László Almásy
| Hungarian | 19th/20th
| Africa |
| Francisco de Almeida
| Portuguese | 16th
| India |
| Lourenço de Almeida
| Portuguese | 16th
| Sri Lanka, India |
| Pedro de Alvarado
| Spanish | 16th
| Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras |
| Francisco Álvares
| Portuguese | 16th
| Ethiopia |
| Gonçalo Álvares
| Portuguese | 15th
| Gough Island, Namibia |
| Jorge Álvares
| Portuguese | 16th
| China |
| Roald Amundsen
| Norwegian
| 20th | South Pole, Antarctica, Northwest Passage |
| José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta
| Portuguese | 19th
| Gough Island |
| Charles John Andersson
| Swedish | 19th
| Southern Africa |
| António de Andrade
| Portuguese | 16th/17th
| India, Tibet |
| Fernão Pires de Andrade
| Portuguese | 16th
| Ming China |
| Salomon August Andrée
| Swedish | 19th
| Arctic |
| Roy Chapman Andrews
| American | 20th
| China, Mongolia |
| Juan Bautista de Anza
| Spanish | 18th
| California |
| Moncacht-Apé
| Yazoo
| 17th/18th
| North America |
| Dominick Arduin
| French | 20th/21st
| North Pole |
| Henryk Arctowski
| Polish | 20th
| Antarctic, South America |
| Neil Armstrong
| American | 20th
| The Moon |
| Ingólfur Arnarson
| Norse | 9th
| Iceland |
| Vladimir Arsenyev
| Russian | 20th
| Far East |
| Michael Asher
| English | 20th
| Africa |
| Pero de Ataíde
| Portuguese | 16th/17th
| Indian Ocean |
| Vasco de Ataíde
| Portuguese | 16th/17th
| India, Tibet |
| Vladimir Atlasov
| Siberian Cossack | 17th
| Kamchatka Peninsula |
| François Xavier Aubry
| French Canadian | 19th
| American Southwest |
| Väinö Auer
| Finnish | 20th
| Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia |
| Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
| Spanish | 16th
| Florida |
| Juan de Ayala
| Spanish | 18th
| California |
| Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón
| Spanish
| 16th
| South Carolina |
| Diogo de Azambuja
| Portuguese | 15th
| West African coast |
| George Back
| English | 19th
| Canada (Arctic) |
| William Baffin
| English | 17th
| Northwest Passage, Canada (Arctic) |
| Ralph Bagnold
|British
|20th
|Libyan Desert |
| Abu Bakr II
| Mali Empire | 14th
| Atlantic Ocean, trans-Atlantic (allegedly) |
| Samuel Baker
| English | 19th
| Africa |
| Vasco Núñez de Balboa
| Spanish | 16th
| Panama, 'discovered' the Pacific Ocean |
| Robert Ballard
| American | 20th
| deep sea wrecks, Titanic |
| Ann Bancroft
| American | 20th/21st
| Arctic, Antarctic |
| Joseph Banks
| English | 18th
| Newfoundland and Labrador, South Pacific |
| Hong Bao
| Chinese
| 15th
| South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, East African coast |
| Giosafat Barbaro
| Italian | 15th
| Black Sea, Near East |
| Duarte Barbosa
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Indian Ocean, 1st circumnavigation |
| Pero de Barcelos
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| North America |
| Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia
| Portuguese | 15th
| Western Sahara |
| Jeanne Baré
| French | 18th/19th
| Pacific Ocean |
| Willem Barentsz
| Dutch | 16th
| Northeast Passage, Novaya Zemlya, Svalbard |
| Heinrich Barth
| German | 19th
| Central and northern Africa |
| Robert Bartlett
| Newfoundlander
| 20th
| Arctic |
| William Bartram
| American
| 18th
| Southern United States |
| George Bass
| English | 18th
| Australia, Tasmania |
| Henry Walter Bates
| English | 19th
| Amazon basin |
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta[{{Cite web|url=http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelmain.shtml/|title=Travellers on the Silk Road before the year 1000 AD - Silk-Road.com|access-date=14 June 2022|archive-date=11 April 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411045209/http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelmain.shtml/|url-status=live}}][[http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Ibn_Battuta/Battuta's_Trip_Three.html Battuta's Travels: Part Three – Persia and Iraq] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423014420/http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Ibn_Battuta/Battuta%27s_Trip_Three.html |date=23 April 2008 }}]
| Marinid | 14th
| Africa, Central Asia, China, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Middle East, Russia, Southeast Asia |
| Nicolas Baudin
| French | 18th
| Australia |
| James Beckwourth
| American | 19th
| Sierra Nevada |
| William Beebe
| American | 20th
| deep sea |
| Pyotr Beketov
| Russian | 17th
| Siberia |
| Gertrude Bell
| English | 19th/20th
| the region of Syria Mesopotamia Asia Minor Arabia |
| Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
| Baltic German | 19th
| Antarctica |
| Joseph René Bellot
| French | 19th
| Arctic |
| Móric Benyovszky
| Hungarian | 18th
| northern Pacific Ocean[{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2547/ |title = Memoirs and Travels of Mauritius Augustus Count de Benyowsky: Consisting of His Military Operations in Poland, His Exile into Kamchatka, His Escape and Voyage from that Peninsula through the Northern Pacific Ocean, Touching at Japan and Formosa, to Canton in China, with an Account of the French Settlement He Was Appointed to Form upon the Island of Madagascar |website = World Digital Library |year = 1790 |access-date = 6 July 2013 |archive-date = 22 April 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090422153250/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2547/ |url-status = live }}] |
| Vitus Bering
| Russian (Danish-born) | 18th
| Northern Pacific Ocean, Bering Strait, Alaska (North America) |
| Jean de Béthencourt
| French | 15th
| Canary Islands |
| Hiram Bingham III
| American | 20th
| Machu Picchu, Peru |
| Laura Bingham
| English | 20th/21st
| South America |
| Isabella Bird
| English | 19th/20th
| North America, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Persia, Kurdistan, Turkey, Morocco |
| Stephen Bishop
| American | 19th
| Mammoth Cave |
| John Blashford-Snell
| English | 20th/21st
| various |
| Adriaen Block
| Dutch | 17th
| East Coast of the United States |
| Nellie Bly
| American | 19th/20th
| trip around the world in 72 days |
| Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Benjamin Bonneville
| American | 19th
| Oregon Country, Great Basin |
| Daniel Boone
| American | 18th
| Kentucky, Appalachian Mountains |
| Vittorio Bottego
| Italian | 19th
| Somalia |
| Adam Brand
| German | 17th
| Russia, China |
| Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza
| Italian-French | 19th
| Congo |
| Saint Brendan
| Irish | 6th
| Atlantic Ocean, Iceland |
| Jim Bridger
| American | 19th
| Western United States |
| James Bruce
| Scottish | 18th
| Algeria, the Middle East, Egypt |
| William S. Bruce
| Scottish | 20th
| Antarctica |
| Jørgen Brønlund
| Greenlandic | 20th
| Greenland |
| Étienne Brûlé
| French | 17th
| Canada (interior) |
| Bungaree
| Aboriginal Australian | 18th/19th
| Australian coasts |
| Lafayette Bunnell
| American | 19th
| Yosemite Valley |
| Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
| Swiss | 19th
| Middle East, Sudan |
| Robert O'Hara Burke
| Irish | 19th
| Australia |
| Frederick Russell Burnham
| American | 19th/20th
| Africa, Mexico |
| Richard Francis Burton
| English | 19th
| East Africa |
| Thomas Button
| Welsh
| 17th
| Northwest Passage |
| José de Bustamante y Guerra
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Ocean |
| Richard E. Byrd
| American | 20th
| North Pole, Antarctica |
| Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
| Spanish | 16th
| Southwestern United States, Mexico, Argentina |
John Cabot[Giovanni Caboto.]
|Italian | 15th
| North American mainland (Canada) |
| Sebastian Cabot
| Italian | 15th
| Northwest Passage (Canada), Río de la Plata, Paraná River (South America) |
| João Cabral
| Portuguese | 16th
| Bhutan & Nepal |
| Pedro Álvares Cabral
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Brazil, Madagascar |
| Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
| Portuguese or Spanish | 16th
| California |
| Estêvão Cacella
| Portuguese | 16th
| Himalayas |
| Alvise Cadamosto
| Italian | 15th
| Cape Verde islands |
| Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
| French | 18th
| North America |
| René Caillié
| French | 19th
| North Africa |
| Álvaro Caminha
| Portuguese | 15th
| São Tomé and Príncipe islands |
| Pero Vaz de Caminha
| Portuguese | 15th
| Brazil |
| Alberto del Canto
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Northwestern Mexico |
| Diogo Cão
| Portuguese | 15th
| west coast of Africa (including the Congo River) |
| Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo
| Portuguese | 19th
| African continent |
| John Carpini
| Italian | 13th
| Central Asia, Mongolia |
| Juan Carrasco
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Kit Carson
| American | 19th
| Rocky Mountains, California, Oregon, Great Basin |
| Jan Carstensz
| Dutch | 17th
| New Guinea coast, Gulf of Carpentaria |
| Jacques Cartier
| French | 16th
| St. Lawrence River |
| João de Castro
| Portuguese | 15th
| India, Arabian Peninsula & Red Sea |
| René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle
| French | 17th
| Mississippi embayment |
| Bodhidharma
|Indian/Persian
|5th/6th
|China and Southeast Asia (semi-legendary) |
| Thomas Cavendish
| English | 16th
| Virginia, Pacific coast of Central and South America |
| Merieme Chadid
| Moroccan, French | 20th/21st
| Antarctica, South America, Asia, Astronomer |
| Paul Du Chaillu
| French | 19th
| Africa |
| Harriet Chalmers Adams
| American | 19th/20th
| South America, Asia, South Pacific |
| Samuel de Champlain
| French | 16th/17th
| Quebec, Great Lakes |
| Chang Chun
| Chinese | 13th
| Central Asia, Mongolia |
| Jean Chardin
| French | 17th
| Persia, India |
| Semion Chelyuskin
| Russian | 18th
| Great Northern Expedition |
| Vasily Chichagov
| Russian | 18th
| Northern Sea Route |
| Aleksei Chirikov
| Russian | 18th
| Great Northern Expedition |
| Fletcher Christian
| English | 18th
| Polynesia |
| Boris Chukhnovsky
| Russian | 20th
| Arctic |
| Hugh Clapperton
| Scottish | 19th
| west and Central Africa |
| William Clark
| American | 19th
| Western United States |
| Gonçalo Coelho
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| South American coast |
| Nicolau Coelho
| Portuguese | 15th
| Brazil |
| Frank Cole
| Canadian | 20th
| Sahara |
| Bartholomew Columbus
| Genoese
| 15th/16th
| Hispaniola, The Antilles |
Christopher Columbus[Cristoforo Colombo.]
| Genoese | 15th/16th
| Bahamas, Caribbean, Central America, South America (Colombia and Venezuela) |
| Diego Columbus
|Portuguese
|16th
|Hispaniola (Mainly Dominican Republic) |
| George Comer
| American | 19th/20th
| Arctic |
| Megasthenes
|Greek
|3rd BCE
|India |
| Niccolò Da Conti
| Italian (Venetian) | 15th
| India, Southeast Asia |
| Frederick Cook
| American | 19th/20th
| Arctic |
| James Cook
| English | 18th
| Australasia, Oceania |
| Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
| Spanish | 16th
| New Mexico |
| Mahinda
|Indian
|3rd BCE
|Sri Lanka |
| Diogo Álvares Correia
| Portuguese | 16th
| Brazil |
| Gaspar Côrte-Real
| Portuguese | 16th
| Newfoundland, Greenland |
| João Côrte-Real
| Portuguese | 15th
| Azores, Newfoundland (Possible exploration of North America in 1473) |
| Miguel Côrte-Real
| Portuguese | 16th
| Greenland, Newfoundland, Massachusetts |
| Hernán Cortés
| Spanish | 16th
| Mexico |
| Juan de la Cosa
| Spanish | 15th/16th
| Caribbean, South America |
| Thomas Coulter
| Irish | 19th
| Mexico, Alta California |
| Jean Cousin
| French | 15th
| Possibly the Americas around 1488. Possibly mouth of the Amazon River |
| Jacques-Yves Cousteau
| French | 20th
| the deep sea |
| Pero da Covilhã
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| India, Ethiopia |
| Tom Crean
| Irish | 20th
| Antarctica |
| Andrew Croft
| English | 20th
| Arctic |
| Tristão da Cunha
| Portuguese | 16th
| Tristan da Cunha islands |
| William Healey Dall
| American | 19th
| Alaska, Yukon |
| William Dampier
| English | 17th/18th
| Australia, Panama, many other locations |
| Alexandra David-Néel
| French-Belgian
| 20th
| Tibet (Traveled to Lhasa) |
| Isaac Davis
| Welsh | 18th
| Hawaii |
| Faxian
|Chinese
|5th
|India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia |
| John Davis
| English | 16th
| East Indies, Falkland Islands |
| Wang Dayuan
| Chinese
| 14th
| Southeast Asia, Singapore |
| Semyon Dezhnev
| Russian | 17th
| Siberia, Bering Strait (80 years before Vitus Bering) |
| Bartolomeu Dias
| Portuguese | 15th
| Africa |
| Dinis Dias
| Portuguese
| 15th
| Northwest African coast |
| Diogo Dias
| Portuguese | 16th
| Madagascar, Somalia |
| Pero Dias
| Portuguese
| 15th
| African coast |
| Dicuil
| Irish | 8th
| England, Scotland |
| Karl von Ditmar
| Baltic German | 19th
| Kamchatka |
| Raphaël Domjan
| Swiss | 21st
| various |
| Francis Drake
| English | 16th
| Caribbean, Pacific Coast of North America |
| Gil Eanes
| Portuguese | 15th
| Northwest African coast |
| Juan Sebastián Elcano
| Spanish | 16th
| completed Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation |
| Francisco de Eliza
| Spanish | 18th
| Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia |
| Lincoln Ellsworth
| American | 20th
| Arctic and Antarctica |
| Franz Engel
| German | 19th
| South America |
| Kaundinya
|Indian
|1st
|Southeast Asia |
| Leif Eriksson
| Norse Viking | 11th
| Vinland (Newfoundland) and North American mainland (Canada) |
| Erik the Red
| Norse Viking | 10th
| Greenland |
| Pedro Escobar
| Portuguese | 15th
| São Tomé and Príncipe islands |
| St Vincent Whitshed Erskine
| British-South African | 19th
| Gazaland & Limpopo River |
| Eudoxus of Cyzicus
| Greek | 2nd BC
| Indian Ocean, attempted circumnavigation of Africa |
| Euthymenes
| Greek | 6th BC
| Northwest African coast |
| George Everest
| Welsh | 19th
| India |
| Evliya Çelebi
| Turkish | 17th
| Turkey, Egypt, Africa, Europe |
| Ahmad ibn Fadlan
| Abbasid Caliphate | 10th
| Eastern Europe, Middle East, Russia |
| João Álvares Fagundes
| Portuguese
| 16th
| Newfoundland and Nova Scotia |
| Edmund Fanning
| American | 18th/19th
| Oceania |
| Percy Harrison Fawcett
| English | 20th
| Amazon Rainforest |
| Álvaro Fernandes
| Portuguese | 15th
| West African coast |
| Baltasar Fernandes
| Portuguese | 17th
| Brazil |
| Duarte Fernandes
| Portuguese | 16th
| Thailand |
| Juan Fernández
| Spanish | 16th
| Juan Fernández Islands, Pacific Ocean |
| Salvador Fidalgo
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Peter Fidler
| English | 18th
| Western Canada |
| Sir Ranulph Fiennes
| English | 20th/21st
| Arctic, Antarctica |
| Matthew Flinders
| English | 18th/19th
| Australia, Tasmania |
| Alexander Forbes
| Scottish | 19th
| California |
| Peter Forsskål
| Finnish | 18th
| Arabian Peninsula |
| John Franklin
| English | 19th
| Northwest Passage |
| Simon Fraser
| Scottish | 18th/19th
| British Columbia |
| Lançarote de Freitas
| Portuguese
| 15th
| Northwest African coast |
| John C. Frémont
| American | 19th
| Oregon Trail, Sierra Nevada |
| Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne
| French | 18th
| Oceania |
| Louis de Freycinet
| French | 19th
| Western Australia, Oceania |
| Martin Frobisher
| English | 16th
| Northwest Passage, Canada |
| Afanasy Nikitin
|Russian
|15th
|Ottoman Empire, Persia and India |
| Xu Fu
| Chinese | 3rd BC
| Japan |
| Juan de Fuca
| Greek-Spanish | 16th
| Strait of Juan de Fuca, Canada–United States border |
| Vivian Fuchs
| English | 20th
| Antarctica |
| Alfons Gabriel
| Austrian | 20th
| Iran |
| Yuri Gagarin
| Soviet | 20th
| Earth orbit |
| Martín Galeano
| Italian (Genoese)-Spanish
| 16th
| Colombia |
| Dionisio Alcalá Galiano
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Juan Galindo
| Spanish/Irish | 19th
| Mesoamerica (Mayan remains) |
| Estevão da Gama
| Portuguese | 16th
| Trindade and Martim Vaz islands, Indian Ocean |
| João da Gama
| Portuguese | 16th
| Hokkaido, Kuril islands, North Pacific, North America |
| Paulo da Gama
| Portuguese | 15th
| sea route from Europe to India |
| Vasco da Gama
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| sea route from Europe to India |
| Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa
| Spanish | 16th
| Solomon Islands |
| Thomas Gann
| Irish | 19th/20th
| Mesoamerica (Mayan remains) |
| Francisco Garcés
| Spanish | 18th
| Southwestern United States, northwestern Mexico |
| Aleixo Garcia
| Portuguese | 16th
| Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia |
| Francisco García Jofre de Loaísa
| Spanish | 16th
| Pacific Ocean |
| Francis Garnier
| French | 19th
| Mekong River |
| Adrien de Gerlache
| Belgian | 19th/20th
| Antarctica, Arctic |
| Romolo Gessi
| Italian | 19th
| the Nile, Sudan |
| Humphrey Gilbert
| English | 16th
| North America |
| Ernest Giles
| Australian | 19th
| Central Australia |
| Diogo Gomes
| Portuguese
| 15th
| West African coast |
| André Gonçalves
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Brazil |
| Antão Gonçalves
| Portuguese | 15th
| West African coast |
| Lopes Gonçalves
| Portuguese | 15th
| Atlantic Ocean |
| Binot Paulmier de Gonneville
| French | 15th/16th
| Brazil (Santa Catarina) |
| James Augustus Grant
| Scottish | 19th
| East Africa |
| João Grego
| Portuguese | 15th
| African coast |
| Juan de Grijalva
| Spanish | 16th
| Mexico, Nicaragua |
| Grigory Grum-Grshimailo
| Russian | 19th/20th
| Central Asia, Tuva, Far East |
| Gonzalo Guerrero
| Spanish | 16th
| Yucatán Peninsula |
| Mikhail Gvozdev
| Russian | 18th
| First Kamchatka Expedition, Great Northern Expedition |
| Charles Gwynn
| Irish | 19th/20th
| Sudan |
| Niels Peter Høeg Hagen
| Danish | 20th
| Greenland |
| Hanno the Navigator
| Carthaginian | 6th BC
| West African coast |
| Hannu
| Egyptian | 21st/20th BC
| East Africa |
| Gonzalo López de Haro
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Alfred Harrison
| English | 20th
| Arctic |
| Dirk Hartog
| Dutch | 17th
| Western Australian coast |
Ahmed Pasha Hassanein[{{Cite web|url=http://saharasafaris.org/hassaneinbey/|title=The World of Ahmed Bey Hassanein|website=saharasafaris.org|access-date=14 June 2022|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503143939/http://saharasafaris.org/hassaneinbey/|url-status=live}}]
| Egyptian | 20th
| Oweinat and the Sahara |
| Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden
| American | 19th
| Rocky Mountains and the Western United States |
| Zheng He
| Chinese
| 15th
| South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, East African coast |
| Samuel Hearne
| English | 18th
| North Canada, Arctic |
| Bruno de Heceta
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Sven Hedin
| Swedish | 19th/20th
| Central Asia |
| Matthew Alexander Henson
| American | 20th
| Arctic |
| Louis Hennepin
| Belgian-French | 17th
| North American interior |
| Pedro de Heredia
| Spanish | 16th
| Northern Colombia |
| Bjarni Herjulfsson
| Norse Viking | 10th
| North America |
| William Lewis Herndon
| American | 19th
| Amazon basin |
| Herodotus
| Greek | 5th BC
| Near East, Middle East, North Africa |
| Thor Heyerdahl
| Norwegian | 20th
| anthropological ocean voyages |
| Sir Edmund Hillary
| New Zealander | 20th
| Mount Everest, Antarctica |
| Himilco the Navigator
| Carthaginian | 6th BC
| Northwestern coast of Europe |
| Hippalus
| Greek | 1st BC
| Indian Ocean |
| Clement Hodgkinson
| English | 19th
| New South Wales (Australia) |
| Pelham Aldrich
| English
| 19th/20th
| Arctic |
| Emil Holub
| Czech | 19th
| Africa |
| Robert Hottot
| French | 20th
| Congo River |
| Cornelis de Houtman
| Dutch | 16th
| sea route from Europe to Indonesia |
| Frederick de Houtman
| Dutch | 16th/17th
| Western Australian coast |
| William Hovell
| English | 19th
| Southern New South Wales |
| Du Huan
| Chinese
| 8th
| Central Asia, Middle East, East African coast |
| Henry Hudson
| English | 17th
| Northwest Passage, Hudson River and Hudson Bay |
| Alexander von Humboldt
| German | 19th
| Latin America, Siberia |
| Hamilton Hume
| Australian | 19th
| Australian interior |
| James S. Hutchinson
| American | 20th
| Sierra Nevada |
| Hyecho
| Korean | 8th
| India, Persia and Central Asia |
| João Infante
| Portuguese | 15th
| African coast |
| Helge Ingstad
| Norwegian | 20th
| Newfoundland, Greenland, Alaska |
| James Irwin
| American
| 20th
| The Moon |
| Kurbat Ivanov
| Siberian Cossack | 17th
| Siberia, Russian Far East, discoverer of Lake Baikal |
| Roberto Ivens
| Portuguese | 19th
| African continent |
| Cristóvão Jacques
| Portuguese | 16th
| Paraná River, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina |
| James of Ireland
| Irish | 14th
| Sumatra, China |
| Willem Janszoon
| Dutch | 17th
| Australia (Queensland) |
| Anthony Jenkinson
| English | 16th
| Russia, Persia |
| Louis Jolliet
| French Canadian | 17th
| Mississippi River |
| Jørgen Jørgensen
| Danish | 18th/19th
| Tasmania |
| Friar Julian
| Hungarian | 13th
| Volga Bulgaria |
| Conrad Carel Käyser
| Dutch | 20th
| Suriname |
| Thorfinn Karlsefni
| Icelandic | 11th
| Vinland |
| Johann Karl Ehrenfried Kegel
| German | 19th
| Kamchatka |
| George Kennan
| American | 19th/20th
| Russia[Kamchatka, Caucasus, Siberia.] |
| Edmund Kennedy
| British-Australian | 19th
| Australian interior |
| Robert Kennicott
| American | 19th
| Alaska, Siberia, Yukon and Northern Canada |
| Yerofey Khabarov
| Russian | 17th
| Second Russian to explore the Amur region |
| Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad
| Andalusian | 9th
| Atlantic Ocean (possibly mythical) |
| Mary Kingsley
| English
| 19th
| Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, and other South West African regions |
| Eusebio Kino
| Italian | 17th/18th
| Californias, Sonora and Arizona |
| Maria Klenova
| Russian | 20th
| One of the founders of marine geology |
| Amyr Klink
| Brazilian | 20th
| Antarctica |
| John Knight
| English | 17th
| Greenland, Labrador |
| Johan Peter Koch
| Danish | 20th
| Greenland |
| Alexander Kolchak
| Russian | 20th
| Russian Arctic |
| Ferdinand Konščak
| Croatian | 17th
| Baja California Peninsula |
| Fyodor Konyukhov
| Russian | 20th/21st
| circumnavigation, Explorers Grand Slam, pole of inaccessibility |
| Otto von Kotzebue
| Baltic German | 19th
| Pacific Ocean |
| Pyotr Kozlov
| Russian | 20th
| Mongolia, Tibet |
| Johann Ludwig Krapf
| German | 19th
| Ethiopia, Kenya |
| Pyotr Krenitsyn
| Russian | 18th
| Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka Peninsula |
| Adam Johann von Krusenstern
| Baltic German | 19th
| First Russian circumnavigation |
| Francisco de Lacerda
| Portuguese
| 18th
| Zambia |
| Juan Ladrillero
| Spanish
| 16th
| Chile |
| Ernest Doudard de Lagrée
| French
| 19th
| Indochina, Mekong and Yunnan |
| Alexander Gordon Laing
| Scottish | 19th
| West Africa (Niger River and Timbuktu) |
| Pierre Martin de La Martinière
| French | 17th
| Norway, Lapland, northern Russia, Novaya Zemlya, Greenland and Iceland |
| Richard Lemon Lander
| English | 19th
| West Africa (Niger and Benue Rivers) |
| Grigori Ivanovitch Langsdorff
| Russian–German | 19th
| Brazil |
| Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
| French | 18th
| Pacific Rim |
| Khariton Laptev
| Russian | 18th
| Great Northern Expedition |
| Anthony de la Roché
| English | 17th
| Antarctica |
| Gadifer de la Salle
| French | 15th
| Canary Islands |
| João Fernandes Lavrador
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Labrador |
| Joseph N. LeConte
| American | 20th
| Sierra Nevada |
| Albert von Le Coq
| German | 19th/20th
| Central Asia |
| John Ledyard
| American | 18th
| Australasia, Oceania, Russia |
| Miguel López de Legazpi
| Spanish | 16th
| Philippines |
| Ludwig Leichhardt
| German | 19th
| Australian interior |
| Jacob Le Maire
| Dutch | 17th
| South Pacific (Cape Horn, Tonga Islands, Wallis and Futuna) |
| Gaspar de Lemos
| Portuguese | 15th
| Brazil |
| Dragutin Lerman
| Croatian | 19th/20th
| Congo |
| Mikhail Levashev
| Russian | 18th
| Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka Peninsula |
| Meriwether Lewis
| American | 18th/19th
| Western United States |
| Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet
| Scottish | 20th
| East Greenland |
| João de Lisboa
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Indian Ocean, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina |
| St. George Littledale
| English | 19th
| Central Asia and North America |
| David Livingstone
| Scottish | 19th
| Southern and East Africa |
| Louis-Philippe Loncke
| Belgian | 21st
| Australia, the Andes and Iceland |
| Jim Lovell
| American | 20th
| Outer Space |
| Alexander Mackenzie
| Scottish Canadian | 18th/19th
| Canada |
| Ferdinand Magellan
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| 1st circumnavigation, Philippines, Strait of Malacca, Indian Ocean |
| Jacques Mahu
| French-Dutch
| 16th
| Cape Verde islands |
| Alessandro Malaspina
| Italian-Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Ocean |
| Teoberto Maler
| German-Italian | 19th
| Mesoamerica (Mayan remains) |
| George Mallory
| English | 20th
| Mount Everest |
| Lancelotto Malocello
| Italian | 13th/14th
| Lanzarote (Canary Islands) |
| Albert Hastings Markham
| British | 19th
| Arctic |
| Lourenço Marques
| Portuguese | 16th
| Mozambique |
| Jacques Marquette
| French | 17th
| Mississippi River |
| Álvaro Martins
| Portuguese | 15th
| Newfoundland, Cape of Good Hope |
| Pedro Mascarenhas
| Portuguese | 16th
| Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia |
| John Minor Maury
| American | 19th
| Darién Gap |
| Douglas Mawson
| Australian | 20th
| Antarctica |
| Robert McClure
| Irish | 19th
| Arctic |
| Robert McCormick
| British
| 19th
| Arctic and Antarctic Oceans |
| Álvaro de Mendaña
| Spanish | 16th
| Pacific Ocean |
| António Lopes Mendes
| Portuguese
| 19th
| Brazil, India |
| Cristóvão de Mendonça
| Portuguese | 16th
| East Asia, Australasia |
| Pedro de Mendoza
| Spanish
| 16th
| South America |
| Jorge de Menezes
| Portuguese | 16th
| Papua New Guinea |
| Archibald Menzies
| Scottish | 18th/19th
| Pacific Ocean, circumnavigation |
| Alexander von Middendorff
| Russian-Baltic German | 19th
| Siberia, Far East, Lapland, Fergana Valley |
| Ejnar Mikkelsen
| Danish | 20th
| Greenland |
| Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay
| Russian | 19th
| New Guinea |
| Thomas Mitchell
| Scottish | 19th
| Australian interior |
| Richard Mohun
| American | 19th/20th
| Congo Free State |
| Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons
| French | 16th/17th
| North America |
| George Fletcher Moore
| Irish | 19th
| Australia |
| John Moresby
| English | 19th
| New Guinea coast |
| Ivan Moskvitin
| Russian | 17th
| First European to reach the Sea of Okhotsk |
| António Mota
|Portuguese
|16th
|Japan |
| Henri Mouhot
| French | 19th
| South East Asia |
| Francisco Antonio Mourelle
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest and Pacific Ocean |
| Bimal Mukherjee
| Indian | 20th
| circumnavigation |
| Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen
| Danish | 20th
| Greenland |
| Gustav Nachtigal
| German | 19th
| Africa[{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7312/ |title = Sahara and Sudan: The Results of Six Years Travel in Africa |website = World Digital Library |date = 1879–1889 |access-date = 2 October 2013 |archive-date = 3 May 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210503160659/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/7312/ |url-status = live }}] |
| Naddoddur
| Norse Viking | 9th
| Iceland |
| Nain Singh Rawat (Pundit Brothers)
| Indian | 19th
| Tibet, Himalayas and Central Asia |
| Fridtjof Nansen
| Norwegian | 19th/20th
| Arctic |
| José María Narváez
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Nearchus
| Greek | 4th BC
| Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf |
| Nehsi
| Egyptian | 15th BC
| Land of Punt |
| Arthur Henry Neumann
| English | 19th
| Africa |
| Gennady Nevelskoy
| Russian | 19th
| Sakhalin |
| Jean Nicolet
| French | 17th
| Northwest Territory (United States) |
| Joseph Nicollet
| French-American | 19th
| Mississippi and Missouri Rivers |
| António Noli
| Portuguese | 15th
| Cape Verde islands |
| Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
| Finnish | 19th
| Arctic |
| Tenzing Norgay
| Nepalese | 20th
| Mount Everest |
| Fernão de Noronha
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Atlantic Ocean |
| João da Nova
| Galician-Portuguese | 16th
| Atlantic and Indian Oceans |
| Paulo Dias de Novais
| Portuguese | 16th
| Angola |
| Kazimierz Nowak
| Polish | 20th
| Africa |
| Vanessa O'Brien
| American and British | 20th/21st
| Mountaineering and Challenger Deep in Marianas Trench |
| Sebastián de Ocampo
| Spanish | 16th
| Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico |
| Addison O'Dea
| American | 21st
| The Sahara |
| Odoric of Pordenone
| Italian | 14th
| Persia, India and China |
| Peter Skene Ogden
| Canadian | 19th
| Snake River country, Western United States |
| Alonso de Ojeda
| Spanish
| 15th/16th
| South America (north), Caribbean |
| Juan de Oñate
| Spanish | 16th
| American Southwest |
| Francisco de Orellana
| Spanish | 16th
| South America, Amazon River |
| Simone Orlandini
| Italian | 21st
| Arctic, Tibet |
| Íñigo Órtiz de Retes
| Spanish | 16th
| Papua New Guinea |
| John Oxenham
| English | 16th
| Panama, Pacific Ocean |
| John Oxley
| English | 19th
| Australia[New South Wales, southeastern Queensland.] |
| Pedro Páez
| Spanish | 16th/17th
| Ethiopia |
| Juan Pardo
| Spanish
| 16th
| Southeastern United States |
| Mungo Park
| Scottish | 18th/19th
| West Africa (Niger River) |
| William Parry
| English | 19th
| Arctic |
| James Ohio Pattie
| American | 19th
| Western United States |
| Fiann Paul
| Icelandic
| 21st
| Arctic, Antarctic, Oceans |
| Nathaniel Pearce
| English | 19th
| Ethiopia |
| Robert Peary
| American | 19th/20th
| Arctic |
| Paul Pelliot
| French | 19th/20th
| central Asia |
| Diogo Fernandes Pereira
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Madagascar, Mascarenes (Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues) |
| Duarte Pacheco Pereira
| Portuguese | 15th
| Atlantic Ocean, Brazil |
| Bartolomeu Perestrelo
| Portuguese | 15th
| Madeira Islands |
| Juan Pérez
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Maksim Perfilyev
| Siberian Cossack | 17th
| Eastern Siberia, first Russian to reach Transbaikalia |
| Ivan Petlin
| Siberian Cossack | 17th
| First Russian to reach China |
| Auguste Piccard
| Swiss | 20th
| Earth's atmosphere, the deep sea |
| Jacques Piccard
| Swiss | 20th
| the deep sea |
| Antonio Pigafetta
| Italian (Venetian) | 16th
| Survived the 1st circumnavigation of the world |
| Zebulon Pike
| American | 19th
| Louisiana Purchase (United States) |
| Alonso Alvarez de Pineda
| Spanish | 16th
| Gulf Coast |
| Fernão Mendes Pinto
| Portuguese | 16th
| India, Far East, Japan |
| Serpa Pinto
| Portuguese | 19th
| Southern Africa |
| Martin Alonzo Pinzón
| Spanish | 15th
| Caribbean |
| Vicente Yáñez Pinzón
| Spanish | 15th/16th
| Caribbean, Brazil |
| Luís Pires
| Portuguese | 15th
| abortive voyage to Brazil |
| Francisco Pizarro
| Spanish | 16th
| Hispaniola, Panama, Peru |
| Fernão do Pó
| Portuguese | 15th
| West African coast |
| Marco Polo
| Italian (Venetian) | 13th/14th
| China, Mongol Empire, India |
| Juan Ponce de León
| Spanish | 15th/16th
| Florida |
| Peter Pond
| American | 18th/19th
| Canada interior |
| Fedot Popov
| Russian | 17th
| The first European expedition through the Bering Strait |
| António da Silva Porto
| Portuguese
| 19th
| Angola interior |
| Gaspar de Portolà
| Spanish | 18th
| Alta and Baja California |
| Posidonius
| Greek | 1st BC
| Gaul |
| Sydney Possuelo
| Brazilian | 20th/21st
| Amazon |
| Panayotis Potagos
| Greek | 19th
| Africa |
| Grigory Potanin
| Russian | 19th
| Inner Asia |
| John Wesley Powell
| American | 19th
| Western United States |
| Vassili Poyarkov
| Russian | 17th
| First Russian explorer of the Amur region |
| Mandil Pradhan
| Nepalese
| 21st
| Himalayas |
| Gavriil Pribylov
| Russian | 18th
| Pribilof Islands |
| Vasili Pronchishchev
| Russian | 18th
| Great Northern Expedition |
| Maria Pronchishcheva
| Russian | 18th
| The first female Arctic explorer |
| Nathaniel Hale Pryor
| American | 19th
| western United States |
| Nikolai Przhevalsky
| Russian | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Peter Puget
| English | 19th
| Puget Sound |
| Pytheas
| Greek | 4th BC
| Northern Europe |
| Zhang Qian
| Chinese
| 2nd BC
| Central Asia |
| Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
| Portuguese | 16th/17th
| Oceania |
| Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
| Spanish | 16th
| From Santa Marta to the Bogotá savanna; quest for El Dorado |
| Hernán Pérez de Quesada
| Spanish | 16th
| Caquetá, Colombia; quest for El Dorado |
| Manuel Quimper
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| Emil Racoviță
| Romanian | 19th/20th
| Antarctica |
| John Rae
| Scottish Canadian | 19th
| Northwest Passage, Canada (Arctic) |
| Sir Walter Raleigh
| English | 16th/17th
| Virginia, Orinoco River |
| Knud Rasmussen
| Danish | 20th
| Arctic |
| Piri Reis
| Turkish | 15th/16th
| Mediterranean Sea |
| Matteo Ricci
| Italian | 16th
| China |
| Mario Rigby
| Turks and Caicos Islander | 21st
| Africa |
| Arthur Rimbaud
| French | 19th
| Horn of Africa (Abyssinia) |
| Luigi Robecchi
| Italian | 19th
| Africa |
| Anthony de la Roché
| English | 17th
| Antarctic (South Georgia) |
| Diogo Rodrigues
| Portuguese | 16th
| Mascarene Islands |
| Nicholas Roerich
| Russian | 20th
| Central Asia, Northeast Asia |
| Jacob Roggeveen
| Dutch | 18th
| South Pacific (Easter Island) |
| Cândido Rondon
| Brazilian | 19th/20th
| Brazilian interior (Amazon Basin) |
| James Clark Ross
| English | 19th
| Arctic, Antarctic |
| Sir John Ross
| Scottish | 19th
| Arctic |
| John Ross
| Scottish Australian | 19th
| Northern Territory |
| William of Rubruck
| Flemish | 13th
| Central Asia |
| Nikolay Rudanovsky
| Russian | 19th
| Sakhalin |
| Henry Russell
| Irish | 19th
| Pyrenees |
| Ahmad ibn Rustah
| Persian | 10th
| Russia, Scandinavia, Arabia |
| João de Sá
| Portuguese
| 15th/16th
| India, African coast |
| Álvaro de Saavedra
| Spanish | 16th
| Papua New Guinea, Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands |
| Edward Sabine
| Irish | 19th
| Arctic |
| Sacagawea
| Lemhi Shoshone | 18th/19th
| Western United States |
| Anatoly Sagalevich
| Russian | 20th/21st
| Explorer of the World Ocean, seabed at the North Pole |
| Kira Salak
| American | 20th/21st
| Papua New Guinea, Mali, Bhutan |
| Alonso de Salazar
| Spanish | 16th
| Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean |
| Agustín Lizárraga
| Peruvian | 20th
| Machu Picchu |
| Gadiel Sánchez Rivera
| Peruvian | 21st
| Amazon, Lake Titicaca |
| Sándor Kőrösi Csoma
| Hungarian | 19th
| Tibet |
| Yakov Sannikov
| Russian | 19th
| New Siberian Islands |
| João de Santarém
| Portuguese | 15th
| São Tomé and Príncipe islands |
| Gavril Sarychev
| Russian | 18th/19th
| Sea of Okhotsk, Baltic Sea, Aleutian Islands |
| Martin Sauer
| English | 18th
| Siberia, Alaska |
| Rabban Bar Sauma
| Turco-Mongol | 13th
| Europe, Middle East |
| Johann Schiltberger
| German | 15th
| Central Asia |
| Adolf Schlagintweit
| German | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Eduard Schlagintweit
| German | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Emil Schlagintweit
| German | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Hermann Schlagintweit
| German | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Robert Schlagintweit
| German | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Ulrich Schmidl
| German
| 16th
| Río de la Plata |
| Willem Schouten
| Dutch | 17th
| South Pacific (Cape Horn, Tonga Islands, Wallis and Futuna) |
| Georg August Schweinfurth
| Baltic German | 19th
| East and Central Africa |
| Robert Falcon Scott
| English | 19th/20th
| Antarctica (South Pole) |
| Scylax of Caryanda
| Greek | 6th BC
| Indus River, Indian Ocean, Red Sea |
| Tibor Sekelj
| Croat | 20th
| Argentina |
| Mirko and Stjepan Seljan
| Croat | 20th
| Ethiopia, South America |
| Frederick Courtney Selous
| English | 19th
| Africa |
| Symon Semeonis
| Hiberno-Norman | 14th
| Jerusalem, Albania |
| Gomes de Sequeira
| Portuguese | 16th
| Caroline Islands, Pacific Ocean |
| João Serrão
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| 1st Circumnavigation (also later its co-captain general); commanded the ship Santiago in the Atlantic and the Concepcion across the Pacific, Strait of Malacca, Indian Ocean |
| Francisco Serrão
| Portuguese | 15th/16th
| Indonesia |
| Ernest Shackleton
| English-Irish | 20th
| Antarctica |
| Robert Barkley Shaw
| English | 19th
| Central Asia |
| Eric Shipton
| English | 20th
| Mount Everest, southern Patagonia |
| Tanaka Shōsuke
| Japanese | 17th
| Mexico |
| Diogo Silves
| Portuguese | 15th
| Azores |
| James Simpson
| English | 20th
| North Greenland |
| Pero de Sintra
| Portuguese | 15th
| West African coast, Sierra Leone |
| Pierre-Jean De Smet
| Belgian | 19th
| North America |
| Jedediah Smith
| American
| 19th
| Western United States, Rocky Mountains |
| John Smith
| English
| 17th
| North America |
| William Smith
| English | 19th
| South Shetland Islands |
| Eugene Smurgis
| Russian
| 20th
| Arctic Ocean |
| J. Dewey Soper
| Canadian | 20th
| Canadian Arctic |
| Hernando de Soto
| Spanish | 16th
| Central America, Southern United States |
| Martim Afonso de Sousa
| Portuguese | 16th
| Brazilian interior |
| John Hanning Speke
| English | 19th
| East Africa |
| Hans Staden
| German | 16th
| Brazil |
| Ed Stafford
| English | 21st
| Amazon |
| William Grant Stairs
| Canadian | 19th
| Central Africa |
| Henry Morton Stanley
| Welsh | 19th
| East Africa |
| Vilhjalmur Stefansson
| Icelandic Canadian | 20th
| Canadian Arctic |
| Marc Aurel Stein
| Hungarian-British | 19th/20th
| Central Asia |
| John Lloyd Stephens
| American | 19th
| Middle East, Mesoamerica (Mayan remains) |
Paweł Strzelecki[Sir Paul de Strzelecki.]
| Polish-British | 19th
| the Americas, Australia (Gippsland) |
| John McDouall Stuart
| Scottish | 19th
| Australian Interior |
| Charles Sturt
| British | 19th
| Australian Interior |
| Gardar Svavarsson
| Swedish | 9th
| Iceland |
| Anders Svedlund
| Swedish
| 20th
| Oceans |
| Otto Sverdrup
| Norwegian | 19th/20th
| Arctic |
| Ignacije Szentmartony
| Croat | 18th
| Amazon River |
| Abel Tasman
| Dutch | 17th
| Australasia, including Tasmania |
| António Raposo Tavares
| Portuguese | 17th
| Paraguay River, part of the Andes mountain range, Grande River, Mamoré River, Madeira River, Amazon River (Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia) Union of La Plata Basin to the Amazon River – circumnavigation of Brazil. |
| Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
| French | 17th
| Persia, India |
| Mikhail Tebenkov
| Russian | 19th
| Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Amur River |
| Pedro Teixeira
| Portuguese | 17th
| Amazon River |
| Tristão Vaz Teixeira
| Portuguese | 15th
| Madeira Islands |
| Wilfred Thesiger
| English | 20th
| Africa, Middle East |
| David Thompson
| Welsh–English | 18th/19th
| Western Canada, Pacific Northwest |
| Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir
| Icelandic | | 11th
| North America |
| Harold William Tilman
| English | | 20th
| Himalayas, Patagonia |
| Yermak Timofeyevich
| Russian[Cossack.] | 16th
| Siberia |
| Tenjiku Tokubei
| Japanese | 17th
| South East Asia, India |
| Eduard Toll
| Baltic German | 19th
| Arctic |
| Luis Váez de Torres
| Spanish Galician | 16th/17th
| Australasia |
| Nuno Tristão
| Portuguese | 15th
| West African coast, Guinea-Bissau |
| Petrus Johannes Truter
| Dutch | 19th
| Bechuanaland |
| Hasekura Tsunenaga
| Japanese | 17th
| Mexico, Europe |
| Benjamin of Tudela
| Jewish Navarrese | 12th
| Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Peninsula, Red Sea, Persian Gulf |
| Andrés de Urdaneta
| Spanish | 16th
| Pacific Ocean, Manila Galleon route |
| Jules Dumont d'Urville
| French | 19th
| Antarctica |
| Cayetano Valdés y Flores
| Spanish | 18th
| Pacific Northwest |
| George Vancouver
| English | 18th
| Pacific coast of North America[U.S. Pacific Coast, Pacific Northwest.] |
| Ludovico di Varthema
| Italian | 15th/16th
| Arabian Peninsula, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia |
| Gonçalo Velho
| Portuguese | 15th
| Azores |
| François de La Vérendrye
| French Canadian | 18th
| Western Canada |
| Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye
| French Canadian | 18th
| Great Plains |
| Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye
| French | 18th
| Great Plains |
| Giovanni da Verrazzano
| Italian | 16th
| East Coast of the United States |
| Amerigo Vespucci
| Italian | 15th/16th
| Eastern South American coast, Caribbean |
| Flóki Vilgerðarson
| Norse Viking
| 9th
| Iceland |
| Ruy López de Villalobos
| Spanish | 16th
| Pacific Ocean, Philippines |
| Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi
| Italian
| 13th
| Africa, in a failed attempt to reach India |
| Sebastián Vizcaíno
| Spanish | 16th
| Northwest Pacific, California Coast |
| Willem de Vlamingh
| Dutch | 17th
| Southwest Australian coast |
| Maarten Gerritsz Vries
| Dutch | 17th
| Northwest Pacific (Hokkaido, Sakhalin) |
| Lionel Wafer
| Welsh | 17th
| Malay Archipelago, Isthmus of Panama |
| Jean-Frédéric Waldeck
| French | 19th
| Mesoamerica (Mayan remains) |
| Thomas Walker
| American | 18th
| Eastern United States[Allegheny Mountains, Cumberland Plateau.] |
| Samuel Wallis
| British
| 18th
| First recorded visit to Tahiti |
| Gino Watkins
| English | 20th
| East Greenland & Labrador |
| Langdon Warner
| American | 20th
| the Silk Road |
| Alfred Wegener
| German | 20th
| Greenland |
| John White
| English | 16th
| Roanoke Island |
| Jim Whittaker
| American | 20th
| Mount Everest, Antarctica |
| Frederick Whymper
| English | 19th
| Alaska, Kamchatka, Yukon |
| Charles Wilkes
| American | 19th
| Pacific Ocean |
| Edward Adrian Wilson
| English | 19th/20th
| Antarctica |
| Ernest Henry Wilson
| English
| 19th/20th
| East Asia, East Africa, Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand |
| James Wilson
| British
| 18th
| Pacific Islands |
| Thomas Braidwood Wilson
| Scottish Australian
| 19th
| Australia |
| Harry de Windt
| French | 19th/20th
| Eurasia |
| Fanny Bullock Workman
| American
| 19th/20th
| Himalaya |
| Ferdinand von Wrangel
| Baltic German | 19th
| Northern Russia |
| Xuanzang
| Chinese | 7th
| Indian subcontinent, Central Asia |
| John Young
| Scottish-English | 18th
| Hawaii |
| Sir Francis Younghusband
| British | 19th/20th
| Central Asia |
| Topa Inca Yupanqui
| Inca
| 15th
| Pacific |
| João Gonçalves Zarco
| Portuguese | 15th
| Madeira Islands |
| Gonzalo García Zorro
| Spanish
| 16th
| Colombia |
| Karl Helbig
| German
| 20th
| Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Central America |
