Explorers

period sketch of Henry W. Howgate

From Arctic Influencer to Fugitive: The Strange Story of Henry Howgate

Henry Howgate was not himself an arctic explorer, but...
a painting of Adam Johann von Krusenstern in Kamchatka's Avacha Bay

Great Explorers: Adam Johann von Krusenstern

In the early 1800s, a Russian naval officer pored...
b/w portrait of Masatsugu Konishi.

Remembering Masatsugu Konishi

Born November 19, 1938, the charismatic Japanese mountaineer Masatsugu...
the face of a victorian woman superimposed of a map of the nile

Great Explorers: Florence Baker

In 1861, in present-day South Sudan, Victorian explorer and...
b/w portrait of Gunter Oskar Dyhrenfurth

Remembering Gunter Oskar Dyhrenfurth

On this day in 1886, the German-Swiss mountaineer, geologist,...
A statue of Zheng He.

Great Explorers: Zheng He

Fifteenth-century China was a maritime powerhouse that explored new...
A portrait of Tavernier.

Great Explorers: Jean Baptiste Tavernier

During the violence and instability of 17th-century Europe, monarchies...
b/w portrait of Augusto Gansser.

Augusto Gansser: Geologist and Explorer of the Himalaya

One hundred and fourteen years ago today, in 1910,...
a portrait of Alexander Gordon Laing

Great Explorers: Alexander Gordon Laing

Say what you will about the British Empire in...
Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard.

Great Explorers: Auguste Piccard

There are explorers who plumb great depths: Bob Ballard,...
Illustration of Benjamin of Tudela.

Great Explorers: Benjamin of Tudela

Before Marco Polo and the great medieval travelers, a...
a composite image of a bearded man in 19th century dress and a jungle

Great Explorers: Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay

In the 19th century, biology, physics, chemistry, archaeology, geology,...
Gino Watkins sitting in a kayak

Great Explorers: Gino Watkins

The annals of polar exploration are filled with luminaries...
an illustration of trapper and scout Old Bill Williams

Great Explorers: Old Bill Williams

The humans who cast their eyes to far horizons...
Jim Bridger superimposed over a geyser

Great Explorers: Jim Bridger

Here's a recipe. Take one part larger-than-life figure, add...
Drawing of John C. Fremont.

Great Explorers: John C. Fremont

Skilled explorer or overreaching dilettante? Crusading abolitionist or violent...
gray-haired pilot in flight suit with aircraft

Pilot Dick Rutan, First to Fly Around Earth Without Refueling, Dies at 85

Famed pilot Richard “Dick” Rutan has died. Rutan earned...
painting showing the fall of the Alamo

Great Explorers: Davy Crockett

“Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier…Davy, Davy...
an illustration of David Douglas

Great Explorers: David Douglas, the Accident-Prone Botanist

If you’ve bought a Christmas tree in the last...
front and backside of a weathered medal

UK Bans Export of Final Shackleton Medal

Sir Ernest Shackleton is one of the most heavily...
two mountaineers

Legendary Mt. Rainier Guide Lou Whittaker Dies at 95

A Mount Rainier icon has lapsed into the alpenglow. The...
illustration of Zheng Yi Sao

Great Explorers: Zheng Yi Sao

In the early 1800s, Zheng Yi Sao was the...
a man looking into the viewfinder of a video camera

Nat Geo’s ‘Photographer’ Series Reveals How Pros Work

Typically, a photographer’s objective is to use an image...
headshot of a middle aged white man

Famed Everest Documentarian David Breashears Dies at 68

The mountaineering community has lost a luminary. David Breashears died...

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