Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan
Born	Fernão de Magalhães 1480 Sabrosa, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Died	April 27, 1521 (aged 40–41) Kingdom of Mactan (now Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines)
Nationality	Portuguese
Known for	The first circumnavigation of the Earth, from Europe to East, and to West; for the first expedition from Europe to Asia by the West; and for captaining the first expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Magellan and across the Pacific Ocean
Signature

Ferdinand Magellan (/məˈɡɛlən/ or /məˈdʒɛlən/;Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães, IPA: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃w ðɨ mɐɣɐˈʎɐ̃jʃ]; Spanish: Fernando de Magallanes, IPA: [ferˈnando ðe maɣaˈʎanes]; c. 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Born into a Portuguese noble family in around 1480, Magellan became a skilled sailor and naval officer and was eventually selected by King Charles I of Spain to search for a westward route to the Maluku Islands (the "Spice Islands"). Commanding a fleet of five vessels, he headed south through the Atlantic Ocean to Patagonia, passing through the Strait of Magellan into a body of water he named the "peaceful sea" (the modern Pacific Ocean). Despite a series of storms and mutinies, the expedition reached the Spice Islands in 1521 and returned home via the Indian Ocean to complete the first circuit of the globe. Magellan did not complete the entire voyage, as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521.

...
Wikipedia