Explorers Study Guide

History 654 clues | 103 recurring answers
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17 Must-Know
33 Should-Know
53 Worth Knowing

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Christopher Columbus 21 Vitus Bering 15 Vasco da Gama 14 Roald Amundsen 13 Henry Hudson 12 Dr. Livingstone 12 Captain Cook 12 Ponce de Leon 11 Sir Edmund Hillary 11 Stanley 10 Marco Polo 10 Ferdinand Magellan 10 John Cabot 10 Sir Francis Drake 10 Pizarro 9 Brazil 8 Hernando de Soto 8

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Colonial / Exploration

53 answers | 318 clues
Must-Know (15)
Christopher Columbus 21x 4.8% stumper $233 avg J:11 DJ:10
J $200 2005 He stopped at Gomera in the Canaries for nearly a month, then headed for the New World on Sept. 6, 1492
DJ $600 1997 On his fourth voyage to the New World, 1502-1504, he reached Panama but did not cross the isthmus
DJ $200 1996 In 1502, during his fourth voyage to the New World, he landed in what is now Honduras
Vitus Bering 15x 23.1% stumper $831 avg J:4 DJ:9 FJ:2
J $200 1994 In 1725 this Dane was asked to determine if there was a land connection between Russia & North America
J $500 1987 This Dane proved tales of "Gamaland", a continent between Siberia & the New World, were a myth
DJ $1,600 2022 In 1728 he discovered that Russia was separated from North America by a narrow strait
Vasco da Gama 14x 21.4% stumper $1,057 avg J:2 DJ:12
J $400 1998 In 1498, this Portuguese explorer recruited a pilot in east Africa to help him find India
DJ $800 2023 A 10 1/2-mile bridge across the Tagus River in Lisbon is named for this Portuguese explorer
J $1,000 2025 "The Lusiads", the national epic of Portugal, celebrates this explorer & his discovery of a sea route to India
Roald Amundsen 13x 16.7% stumper $667 avg J:4 DJ:8 FJ:1
J $200 2013 Brr! This Norwegian explorer'sbustsits outside on Spitsbergen Island, from which he flew over the North Pole
J $500 1996 In May 1926 Richard Byrd made the 1st flight over the North Pole, beating this Norwegian by 3 days
DJ $1,000 1994 He chose the Bay of Whales as the base for his 1911 conquest of the South Pole
Henry Hudson 12x $873 avg J:3 DJ:8 FJ:1
J $200 2007 In 1609 he led his men across the Atlantic & up what became known as his river, to Albany
DJ $600 2001 In 1610 he thought the huge North American bay now named for him was the Pacific Ocean
DJ $1,600 2008 A river & bay were named for this explorer who sailed up to Albany looking for the Northwest Passage
Dr. Livingstone 12x $882 avg J:6 DJ:5 FJ:1
J $100 1994 This Scot's "Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa" was a bestseller
DJ $800 2016 In the 1850s this Scot wrote the bestseller "Missionary Travels", an account of his explorations
J $1,000 2019 In 1855 he saw the falls Africans called Mosi-oa-Tunya ("smoke that thunders"), which he renamed for his queen
Captain Cook 12x 16.7% stumper $708 avg J:4 DJ:8
J $400 1987 In the 1770s, Capt. William Bligh served as chief officer on the ship Resolution under this English explorer
J $500 1986 In 1776, the infamous Capt. Bligh was sailing master for this South Seas explorer
DJ $1,000 1986 Captain of the "Endeavour", he was 1st voyager to stop scurvy with cleanliness & careful diet
Ponce de Leon 11x $470 avg J:3 DJ:7 FJ:1
DJ $200 2000 In 1513 he took one of the first Florida cruises, starting near what's now St. Augustine
DJ $600 1999 After serving as governor of Puerto Rico, he was given permission to look for a certain fountain
DJ $1,600 2005 On Feb. 20, 1521 he set sail from Puerto Rico with 200 men; days later, he landed near Charlotte Harbor, Florida
Sir Edmund Hillary 11x $778 avg J:3 DJ:6 FJ:2
DJ $400 2014 Years after his most famous exploit, this Kiwi climber built 27 schools & 2 hospitals in northern Nepal
DJ $1,200 2011 In 1955 this explorer published the aptly titled "High Adventure"
FJ 1999 On hearing of the discovery of George Mallory's body, this man told reporters he still thinks he was first
Stanley 10x $480 avg J:4 DJ:6
J $100 1998 The famous greeting "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" is attributed to him
DJ $800 1988 In 1869 the New York Herald commissioned this correspondent of theirs to go to Central Africa
DJ $1,600 2002 This journalist & African explorer returned to his native Britain & served in Parliament from 1895 to 1900
Ferdinand Magellan 10x 10.0% stumper $550 avg J:3 DJ:7
J $200 1996 The Milky Way has 2 satellite galaxies named after this Portuguese explorer
DJ $600 1987 In 1520, he found the strait at 52 deg. 30' south that now bears his name
DJ $1,000 2001 In 1521 Juan Sebastian del Cano took over for this slain captain & made a historic Indian Ocean crossing
John Cabot 10x 10.0% stumper $1,110 avg DJ:10
DJ $200 1990 Born Giovanni Caboto, this Venetian did his exploring in the service of England
DJ $600 1996 Like father, like son; this Italian's son Sebastian also became an explorer
DJ $2,000 2024 In 1497, sailing for the British, he landed in eastern Canada--not sure where--anyway, not Asia as he thought
Sir Francis Drake 10x 20.0% stumper $550 avg J:2 DJ:8
DJ $400 2005 In 1579 he anchored the Golden Hind for repairs on the West Coast of N. America--no one knows where
DJ $800 1994 Porcelain believed to be from his Golden Hind has been recovered from a bay near San Francisco
DJ $1,000 DD 2017 In 1573 this future circumnavigator raided a mule train carrying Peruvian silver bullion in the isthmus of Panama
Brazil 8x 28.6% stumper $1,000 avg J:1 DJ:6 FJ:1
J $500 1990 To avoid tough sailing off Africa's w. coast, Cabral sailed so far west, he hit what's now this country
DJ $1,500 DD 1992 In 1500 Vicente Pinzon & Pedro Cabral landed in the New World in what is now this country
FJ 1993 What mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller labeled "America" for Amerigo Vespucci is now this country
Hernando de Soto 8x 50.0% stumper $850 avg J:3 DJ:5
J $400 2013 This Hernando's hideaway in the winter of 1539-40 was a village in northern Florida
DJ $800 2005 After discovering the MIssissippi River on May 8, 1541, he took several weeks to build barges to cross it
DJ $1,000 1992 He died in 1542 near the junction of the Mississippi & Red Rivers after a 3-year quest for gold
Should-Know (20)
the Northwest Passage 7x $643 avg J:2 DJ:5
DJ $400 2020 In 1905 Roald Amundsen finally conquered this Atlantic-to-Pacific route explorers had sought for centuries
J $800 2025 In the 1840s an expedition led by Sir John Franklin sought this elusive Arctic waterway but became stuck in the ice & all perished
DJ $1,200 2017 Frozen in for 9 months on an 1821 search for this route, Wm. Parry began the Royal Arctic Theatre to entertain his crew
La Salle 7x 28.6% stumper $1,043 avg J:1 DJ:6
J $500 2001 In 1682 he claimed, not just part, but the entire Mississippi valley for France
DJ $1,000 1994 Rene-Robert Cavelier, who sailed down the Mississippi to its mouth, took this title, after his family manor
DJ $800 1991 In 1682 he reached the mouth of the Mississippi & claimed the region for France
Balboa 7x 16.7% stumper $1,033 avg J:1 DJ:5
J $200 DD 1994 In January 1519 he was beheaded in Acla on the coast of Panama under orders of rival Pedrarias Davila
DJ $600 1992 In 1519 this explorer was beheaded by a rival in Acla on the isthmus of Panama
DJ $2,000 2022 Panama's currency is named for this explorer who crossed the isthmus & sighted the Pacific in 1513
Samuel de Champlain 7x 42.9% stumper $886 avg J:3 DJ:4
J $500 1997 In 1605 this Frenchman wrote a detailed account of the Cape Cod area
DJ $1,000 1997 In 1604 this "Father of New France" founded the Acadia colony at the mouth of Canada's St. Croix River
J $500 1991 This Frenchman explored Canada as far west as Lake Huron & later became its governor
Verrazano 6x 16.7% stumper $883 avg J:3 DJ:3
J $500 1995 This Italian explorer of New York Bay was killed & probably eaten by Carib Indians in 1528
J $1,000 2005 On April 17, 1524 he became the first European to sight New York Harbor; 440 years later a bridge named for him opened there
J $500 1991 The same trip on which he discovered New York Harbor, he also found Narragansett Bay
Abel Tasman 6x 33.3% stumper $1,133 avg J:1 DJ:5
DJ $800 1991 While working for the Dutch East India Co., this Dutchman discovered New Zealand, Tonga & Fiji
J $1,000 2020 The island of Van Diemen's land, a name associated with Australian penal colonies, was renamed in 1855 for this Dutch explorer
DJ $2,000 2016 In January 1643 this Dutchman left New Zealand & a month later became the first European to reach Fiji
Verrazzano 5x 20.0% stumper $2,520 avg DJ:5
DJ $400 1990 N.Y. observes a holiday honoring the 1524 discovery of N.Y. Harbor by this Italian navigator
DJ $1,600 2024 In 1524 he sighted New York Bay & then "bridged" the Atlantic once again in 1528, when he was eaten by cannibals in the West Indies
DJ $2,000 DD 2022 Bridges over New York Bay & Narragansett Bay are named for this explorer who sailed into both bodies of water in 1524
Robert Falcon Scott 5x $2,800 avg DJ:2 FJ:3
DJ $600 1995 This Briton who died in Antarctica in 1912 led his first expedition to the continent in 1901-04
DJ $5,000 DD 2023 "These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale", this British explorer wrote in 1912 in one of his final diary entries
FJ 2021 Confirming a theory, fossils found with this explorer in 1912 included a plant from more than 250 million years ago
Peary 5x 20.0% stumper $640 avg J:1 DJ:4
DJ $400 2006 This explorer's wife Josephine wrote the book "Snow Baby" about giving birth to their daughter in Greenland
DJ $800 2022 African-American explorer Matthew Henson was co-discoverer of the North Pole, along with this man
DJ $1,000 1984 Frederick Cook claimed to have beaten this man to the North Pole by 1 year
the South Pole 4x 25.0% stumper $450 avg DJ:4
DJ $200 1988 In their race to be 1st here, Roald Amundsen beat Robert Scott by 1 month
DJ $800 1985 Britain's Robert Scott & Norway's Roald Amundsen raced to be 1st to arrive there
DJ $400 2016 Roald Amundsen reached this point in December 1911 & told the world 3 months later in a telegram from Australia
the Mississippi 4x 25.0% stumper $400 avg J:2 DJ:2
DJ $200 1985 De Soto the discoverer of this main U.S. river, was buried in it
J $600 2025 In 1682 the explorer La Salle claimed all the land drained by this river & its tributaries for France
J $400 1995 Louis Hennepin falsely claimed discovery of this U.S. river's mouth & was exiled from France
Sir Walter Raleigh 4x 25.0% stumper $525 avg J:2 DJ:2
J $200 1987 Though his attempts to colonize Virginia failed, he was the one who named it that
DJ $600 1992 North America's first English colony was founded by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half brother of this explorer
DJ $1,000 1996 In 1616 he convinced James I to release him from the Tower of London to lead a search for El Dorado
Sebastian Cabot 4x 100.0% stumper $575 avg J:2 DJ:2
DJ $400 1987 Tho he claimed to have accompanied his father, John Cabot, to America in 1497, historians disagree
J $500 1986 This son of John Cabot said he saw Newfoundland codfish that swam ashore to eat leaves
DJ $1,000 1996 After a failed expedition to South America, this son of an Italian explorer was banished from Spain
Matthew Henson 4x 50.0% stumper $1,050 avg J:1 DJ:3
J $800 2017 (Sarah of the Clue Crew reports from the Explorers Club in New York.)Theseseal-skinned mittens with polar bear furinserts were made by an Inuit woman for this polar explorer, who in 1937 became the first African American admitted to the Explorers Clu...
DJ $1,000 1995 His book "A Negro Explorer at the North Pole" was first published in 1912
DJ $800 2016 In 1969 his autobiography of 57 years earlier was republished as "A Black Explorer at the North Pole"
Easter Island 4x $733 avg J:1 DJ:2 FJ:1
J $400 1996 Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovered this island April 5, 1722; it was a holiday
DJ $800 2005 Dutchman Jakob Roggeveen was the first European to report on the giant stone statues of this South Pacific isle
DJ $1,000 DD 1994 On Sunday, April 5, 1722, Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen became the 1st European to reach this island
Cortes 4x $425 avg J:2 DJ:2
J $300 1986 Though outnumbering his forces 100-1, the Aztecs didn't fight, thinking he was the god-man Quetzalcoatl
DJ $600 1994 In October 1522 this conquistador was named Captain General of New Spain
J $400 1996 Before conquering the Aztec Empire, he aided Diego Velasquez in the conquest of Cuba
Coronado 4x $1,025 avg J:1 DJ:3
J $500 1987 Though this Spaniard never found the 7 Cities of Gold, his men did stumble across the Grand Canyon
DJ $1,000 1990 He was disappointed to find the Seven Cities of Cibola were just Indian pueblos
DJ $1,600 2005 In 1776 Francisco Garces became the first European since this Spanish conquistador's men to reach the Grand Canyon
Amerigo Vespucci 4x 33.3% stumper $667 avg J:1 DJ:2 FJ:1
DJ $200 1991 Between 1499 & 1502, this Italian explorer made 2 trips to a continent later named for him
DJ $800 2021 This continental namesake held the post of master navigator in Seville from 1508 to 1512
J $1,000 2007 Seen here is a map of this Florentine's explorations
Thor Heyerdahl 4x $400 avg J:3 FJ:1
J $200 2017 (Sarah of the Clue Crew reports from the Explorers Club in New York.) Using the Explorers Club globe, this Norwegian planned an expedition to show that South Americans could've settled Polynesia as early as 500 A.D.; on August 7, 1947, his balsa wood...
J $600 2013 (Kellygives the clue from the Galapagos Islands)In 1952, soon after sailing from South America to Polynesia, this Norwegian found pottery shards on the Galapagos--signs of at least temporary pre-Spanish habitation here
FJ 1993 This famous explorer was born in Larvik, Norway October 6, 1914
the Santa Maria 4x 33.3% stumper $433 avg J:1 DJ:2 FJ:1
J $300 1990 Columbus called this ship a "dull sailer and unfit for discovery"
DJ $600 1988 On Christmas Day 1492, this ship ran aground off Hispaniola & was abandoned
FJ 1985 Of Columbus' 3 ships on his 1st voyage, the one that never returned to Spain
Worth Knowing (18)
Portugal 3 John Smith 3 Japan 3 El Dorado 3 Richard Byrd 3 (Alexander) MacKenzie 3 the Orinoco 2 Spain 2 Norway 2 Jacques Cousteau 2 Erik the Red 2 Africa 2 a giraffe 2 Juan Cabrillo 2 Hernando Cortez 2 Henry 2 Baffin 2 Admiral Byrd 2

Other

42 answers | 120 clues
Must-Know (1)
Pizarro 9x $444 avg J:2 DJ:7
J $300 1988 He was Balboa's chief lieutenant during discovery of the Pacific before going on to conquer Peru
DJ $800 2014 Before conquering Peru, he served as mayor & magistrate of Panama City from 1519 to 1523
DJ $200 1992 Before conquering Peru, he served as mayor of Panama City from 1519 to 1523
Should-Know (8)
Antarctica 7x 14.3% stumper $486 avg J:2 DJ:5
DJ $200 1998 On Jan. 17, 1997 Borge Ousland became the first to cross this continent alone & unsupported
DJ $600 1994 Using heavy snow vehicles, Vivian Fuchs led the 1st known coast-to-coast crossing of this continent
DJ $1,000 1987 Both the 1st sighting & the establishment of this land as a continent are credited to Americans
the North Pole 7x 14.3% stumper $357 avg J:4 DJ:3
DJ $200 1999 In 1909 Roald Amundsen set his hopes on being here first, then found out Peary had beaten him to it
DJ $600 2000 Not quite Robert Peary, Edward Parry did set a record for this in 1827, reaching over 82 degrees latitude
J $300 2000 In 1955 Louise Boyd sent a telegram to the Society of Women Geographers, "Flew over" this "yesterday"
Lewis & Clark 6x $200 avg J:3 DJ:3
J $100 1987 Jefferson got only $2500 from Congress to finance their expedition--which ended up costing over $35,000
DJ $200 1999 On July 4, 1803 Thomas Jefferson supplied this pair with a general letter of credit to use on their trip
J $200 1995 A history of their expedition published in 1814 included a preface by Thomas Jefferson
Leif Ericson 4x $500 avg J:3 DJ:1
J $100 2001 In a ship he bought from Bjarni Herjulfsson, he set sail in 1001 & found Vinland
J $500 1997 His family friend Tyrker found vines & grapes in the new land, so he called the area Vinland
J $1,000 2013 (Kely delivers the clue by a map)An historicjourneyaround 1000 A.D. along the Labrador Coast to a place called Vinland may have been undertaken because of a tale thisso-called lucky man had heard while in Greenland
Greenland 4x $475 avg J:1 DJ:3
J $100 1985 Eric the Red lied, calling his discovery this to attract settlers
DJ $1,000 1995 In 1888 Fridtjof Nansen crossed this island from Umivik to Godthaab
DJ $400 2022 In the late 900s Erik the Red founded the first European settlement on this large island
the Nile 4x 25.0% stumper $650 avg DJ:4
DJ $400 1986 From 1856-62, Sir Richard Burton, John Speke, & James Grant "competed" in finding the source of this
DJ $800 2020 John Speke accidentally shot himself before he was to debate Richard Burton over the source of this river
DJ $1,000 1991 In 1858, John Hanning Speke & Richard Burton set out to find the source of this
Jacques Cartier 4x 50.0% stumper $950 avg DJ:4
DJ $800 1993 The highest hill on the island where the St. Lawrence & Ottawa Rivers meet was named Mont Real by him
DJ $1,000 1996 This French discoverer of the St. Lawrence River may have been with Verrazano on his 1524 trip to North America
DJ $1,000 1990 Tho he didn't find the Northwest Passage, this Frenchman established France's claim to Canada
Captain James Cook 4x 25.0% stumper $1,050 avg DJ:4
DJ $400 2022 On his third voyage in 1778, he reached the Hawaiian Islands & named them the Sandwich Islands, after one of his patrons
DJ $800 1996 In 1769 he set out on the Endeavour to find out if the Great South Land existed
DJ $1,500 DD 2001 This captain discovered the Great Barrier Reef the hard way, by running the Endeavour onto it
Worth Knowing (33)
Robert Scott 3 Marquette 3 Kilimanjaro 3 gold 3 the Kamchatka Peninsula 3 Zebulon Pike 2 the Congo 2 Tahiti 2 St. Lawrence 2 Sacajawea 2 New Zealand 2 Neil Armstrong 2 Mount Kenya 2 Machu Picchu 2 Lhasa 2 David Livingstone 2 Bartolomeu Dias 2 Australia 2 Amelia Earhart 2 George Vancouver 2 travel around the world 2 Thomas Jefferson 2 Theodore Roosevelt 2 the Grand Canyon 2 the Golden Gate 2 T.E. Lawrence 2 Prince Henry the Navigator 2 Louis Jolliet 2 John Speke 2 James Ross 2 a gorilla 2 Daniel Boone 2 Baja California 2

Medieval

3 answers | 21 clues
Must-Know (1)
Marco Polo 10x $970 avg J:1 DJ:9
DJ $200 1997 Between 1282 & 1287 this Venetian served as governor of Yangchow, China
DJ $600 1996 Rustichello wrote the original tale of this fellow prisoner's trip to the Far East in French
DJ $5,900 DD 2024 Last name of Niccolò & Maffeo, who in 1271 were given papal letters to present to Kublai Khan
Should-Know (2)
Sir Richard Burton 6x 33.3% stumper $900 avg DJ:6
DJ $800 1994 Partnered with Speke in African exploration, he'd been expelled from Oxford for attending a horse race
DJ $1,000 1994 In 1861 this discoverer of Lake Tanganyika wrote a book about Salt Lake City titled "City of the Saints"
DJ $800 1987 He discovered Lake Tanganyika with John Speke, but translated "The Arabian Nights" by himself
Leif Erikson 5x 40.0% stumper $1,280 avg J:1 DJ:4
DJ $200 1984 Norse explorer who landed in America 500 years before Columbus
DJ $800 1988 The Information Please Almanac gives him credit for discovering Labrador, but questions Nova Scotia
DJ $2,000 DD 2016 Around 1000 A.D. he sailed west to seek North America, which Bjarni Herjolfsson had sighted

Ancient

4 answers | 19 clues
Should-Know (3)
Timbuktu 6x 16.7% stumper $1,117 avg DJ:6
DJ $500 DD 1999 In 1828 Rene Caille reached this remote African city, "an object of curiosity" to Europeans
DJ $1,000 1996 Alexander Gordon Laing was killed by natives soon after visiting this exotic Mali city
DJ $600 1988 In 1826, Alexander Gordon Laing became 1st European to see this "faraway" African city
the Cape of Good Hope 6x $417 avg J:2 DJ:4
J $400 1985 Later renamed this, Bartolomeu Dias called it "Cape of Storms"
J $500 2001 In 1500 Bartolomeu Dias died in a storm off this cape, which he called the Cape of Storms
DJ $200 1988 Bartolomeu Diaz made the encyclopedias by rounding this cape in 1488
Mecca 5x $480 avg DJ:5
DJ $200 1991 Disguised as an Afghani, Sir Richard Burton visited this Muslim holy city in 1853
DJ $600 1994 Lodovico di Varthema once pretended to be a Muslim so he could enter this city
DJ $400 2016 Ludovico di Varthema learned enough Arabic to pass himself off as a Muslim & was able to enter this holy city in 1503
Worth Knowing (1)
India 2

Cold War

1 answers | 3 clues
Worth Knowing (1)
John Glenn 3
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