ROALD AMUNDSEN Polar explorer; led first expedition to South Pole

NEIL ARMSTRONG First man to walk on Moon

DANIEL BOONE Explored American wilderness

RICHARD BYRD Antarctic explorer and aviator

JOHN CABOT Explored east coast of Canada

SAMUEL de CHAMPLAIN Explored Canada and future site of Quebec

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS First major European explorer of Caribbean and North America

JAMES COOK Explored Australia and South Pacific regions

HERNN CORTS Explored Mexico, Baja California, conquered Aztecs

VASCO daGAMA First European to sail around Africa to India and back.

FRANCIS DRAKE Explored North and South America

LEIF ERIKSSON First European to reach North America; explored Greenland

JOHN GLENN First American to orbit Earth; oldest astronaut to fly

HENRY HUDSON Explored upper Canada and America looking for Northwest passage

RENE-ROBERT CAVALIER,SIEUR DE LaSALLE Claimed Louisiana Territory for France

LEWIS & CLARK Explored Loiusiana Territory and Oregon Territory

CHARLES LINDBERGH Aviation pioneer; first solo flight across Atlantic Ocean

DAVID LIVINGSTONE Explored Africa's rivers, first European to cross Africa

FERDINAND MAGELLAN First to lead around-theworld expedition

JACQUES MARQUETTE LOUIS JOLIET First Europeans to explore Mississippi River

ROBERT PEARY MATTHEW HENSON Arctic explorers, codiscoverers of North Pole

MARCO POLO Explored Asia and the territory of Kublai Khan

SALLY RIDE First American woman astronaut

SACAGAWEA Native American woman guided Lewis & Clark's expedition

VALENTINA TERESHKOVA First woman in space

AMERIGO VESPUCCI Explored Americas; North, South America named for him

ROALD AMUNDSEN (1872-1928?)

Roald Amundsen was born on July 16, 1872 in Borge, Norway. He was the first explorer to reach the South Pole. He was the first to take a ship voyage through the Northwest Passage. He was also one of the first to to cross the Arctic by air. In 1897 Roald sailed on the Belgica, a Belgian expedition that was the first to be in the Antarctic during the winter. In 1903 he was the first to sail through the Northwest Passage and around the norhern Canadian coast. The journey ended at Herschel Island in the Yukon in 1905. Amundsen wanted to be the first man to go to the North Pole. However, American Robert Peary got there first in 1909. When Amundsen found out that he could not be first, he decided to be the first man to reach the South Pole. He left Norway in June, 1910. He set up his base sixty miles closer to the Pole than explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who was also trying to be the first to reach the South Pole. Amundsen, with 4 companions, 52 dogs, and 4 sledges, set out on October 19, 1911. They reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, before Scott and his team. In 1926 Amundsen went on a flight with a 14 other explorers. They were the first to fly over the North Pole from Europe to Alaska. In 1928, Roald Amundsen lost his life flying to rescue an engineer named Umberto Nobile. Nobile had built the plane that Amundsen flew over the North Pole. Amundsen's rescue plane crashed and was never found.

NEIL ARMSTRONG (1930- )

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the Moon. He was the commander of the Apollo 11 lunar module, and was accompanied by Edwin E. Aldrin. His first words after stepping on the moon were, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." This event was televised to Earth and seen by millions! Armstrong was born in Ohio in 1930. Armstrong was a Navy pilot from 1949 to 1952. He flew fighter planes in the Korean War. After the war, he left the Navy and got a college degree in aeronautical engineering. In 1955, he became a test pilot for high-performance aircraft. In 1962, he was selected by NASA to become an astronaut. His first space flight in 1966 was nearly a disaster. He was in the first U. S. emergency in space with his partner David Scott, during their Gemini 8 mission. Their spacecraft spun wildly out of control when one of their thruster rockets malfunctioned. They got the spacecraft under control again, but had to return to Earth after only seven orbits because they had used up most of their fuel. In 1968, he was chosen, along with Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, to be a member of the Apollo 11 mission,. It would be the first in history to attempt a manned landing on the Moon. Apollo 11 left Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 16, 1969, boosted by the giant Saturn V rocket. Four days later, it went into orbit around the Moon. The lunar module Eagle, with Armstrong and Aldrin inside, separated from the command module and descended to the surface of the Moon. Their target was a flat area called the Sea of Tranquility. There were large boulders in the landing area, and pilot Armstrong had to use up most of the lunar module's fuel to get into position to make a safe landing. After touching down, Armstrong reported their success with the words: "Tranquility Base here...the Eagle has landed." Several hours later, at 10:56 PM, Eastern Standard Time, Armstrong became the first man ever to walk on the surface of the Moon. Aldrin followed him about fifteen minutes later. The two astronauts set up an American flag, collected rock samples, and set up several scientific experiments and instruments on the lunar surface. They stayed out for about two and a half hours. The next day, they left the Moon and rejoined Collins in the command module. The three astronauts returned home on July 24 and were hailed as heroes. After going to the Moon, Neil Armstrong resigned from the astronaut program in 1970. From 1971 to 1979 he served as an engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati. In 1980 he became chairman of Cardwell International, a supplier of oil-drilling equipment. In 1986 Armstrong became cochairman of the presidential commission investigating the explosion of space shuttle Challenger. DANIEL BOONE (1734-1820)

Daniel Boone is often called the most famous pioneer and frontier hero there ever was. He is especially known for his exploration of the wilderness of Kentucky, USA.

Boone was born in Pennsylvania, USA on November 2, 1734 to a family of Quakers. When he was young, he never had a chance to go to school and learn to read or write. By 1750, when he was 16 his family moved to North Carolina, where Daniel spent most of his time hunting. When he was 23, he got married, and eventually had 10 kids. In 1769, when he was 35, he went with John Finley and his brother to Kentucky. Of course, this was before Kentucky was an American state. In fact, it was seven years before the United States even became a country! It had always been his dream to go to Kentucky. Contrary to some popular belief, he never wore a coonskin cap, and when he went to Kentucky, he wore a black felt cap. Daniel Boone hunted and explored in Kentucky for two years. He was captured and released by Indians in Kentucky, but only for a brief period of time. Boone always respected Indians, but nonetheless, he was captured four times by them. He then built a cabin in Kentucky, and moved his family there. In 1775, Boone led an expedition that blazed a trail through the Cumberland Gap in Virginia and into Kentucky. This trail came to be known as the Wilderness Trail, and thousands of settlers followed it into Kentucky. It was one of the most important trails of the early United States. It was not an entirely new trail. The Indians had been using a similar trail through the natural gap in the mountains (Cumberland Gap) for hundreds of years. Boone's expedition made agreements with the Indians for using the trail, and Boone also cut 200 miles of new trail into Kentucky territory. After Boone was captured again, and then accepted as a member of the Indian community, he pretended that he loved Indian life, but he still waited for just the perfect time to escape. One day, the Indians decided to attack the fort near where he lived. He escaped to warn his people. The Indians used very clever warfare, but the weather was against them and they withdrew. Daniel Boone was rich beyond belief, and he owned over 100,000 acres of land, but lawyers sued him and took his land, because he had not acquired the legal right to the land. Daniel Boone always wanted to be in areas that were basically unpopulated, so in 1799, he moved west again, into Missouri. He said that Kentucky was getting too crowded for him. When he was so old that he could not even aim his rifle straight, he set traps to catch animals. He died on September 26, 1820. RICHARD E. BYRD (1888-1957)

Richard Evelyn Byrd was a very busy man: explorer, naval officer, author, aviator, and writer. He is in our Explorers' Hall of Fame for his explorations of Antarctica. Richard Byrd was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1888. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1912. In a few months he managed to get assigned to a Navy flying school. During the World War I, he commanded an air station in Nova Scotia. After the war, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. In 1925, he led the naval air unit of an expedition to Greenland.

Richard Byrd's first polar expedition was to the Arctic. On this expedition he claimed a vast territory for the United States. He named it Mary Byrd Land after his wife. On May 9, 1926, with Floyd Bennett as his pilot, Byrd navigated the first plane to fly over the North Pole. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for the achievement, but later his claim was seriously disputed. In 1927 Byrd flew across the Atlantic with a crew of three, just one month after Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic. Although the 42-hour flight crash-landed on the coast of France, Byrd and his crew were safe. After this, Byrd became interested in exploring Antarctica. From 1928 to 1947, he led four major expeditions to this continent. From 1928 to 1930, Byrd led his first Antarctic expedition. Its main purpose was to map a large part of the continent. Byrd established a research base called Little America. During this exploration, Byrd and a crew of three made the first flight over the South Pole in 1929. In 1930, at the end of the first expedition, he was made rear admiral of the US Navy. From 1933 to 1935 Byrd returned to Antartica. He then spent five months alone in a hut 120 miles south of Little America to study inland temperatures. He endured temperatures as low as -76 degrees F. Due to a clogged chimney, Byrd became very ill. He refused to call for help. Finally, a tractor party rescued him. On his third Antarctic mission from 1939 to 1941, Byrd made more flights and discovered the southern limit of the Pacific. In 1946-47, he commanded a project to discover and map large areas of Antarctic territory called Operation High Jump. During this mission, he made his second flight over the South Pole. In 1955, Richard Byrd directed Operation Deep Freeze, the first phase of United States operations in the Antarctic. In 1956 Byrd made his last flight over the pole. He died in his home in Boston in 1957, and was acclaimed an international hero. JOHN CABOT (1450?-1499)

John Cabot (known as Giovanni Caboto in Italy) was a great Italian navigator and explorer. He was probably born in Genoa, Italy around 1450, but he moved to Venice and that is where he most likely learned to sail. In 1484, he moved again, this time to Bristol in England. That's when he decided to call himself John Cabot, the "English" version of his name. Like Columbus and others of his time, Cabot believed that Asia could be reached by sailing westward. Up until then, the only known way to get to Asia was by going east. Some wealthy Englishmen liked his ideas and paid for him to lead an westward expedition to Asia. They were anxious to find an easier and quicker way to bring back goods from Asia to trade in Europe.

He made his first voyage to North America (which he thought was Asia) in 1497. The ship was called the Matthew and had a crew of 18 men. He sailed northwest, through the stormy Atlantic Ocean, and eventually came to North America. He sailed along the coast, past Labrador, Newfoundland, and New England. He claimed the land he found for England. King Henry VII was pleased with his efforts and granted Cabot a pension of 20 pounds a year. In 1498, Cabot wanted to return to find "Japan," so he organized another expedition. This time, he took four or five ships and about 300 men and left Bristol in June of 1498. No one knows for certain what happened to this expedition, but it may have sailed from Greenland southward towards Chesapeake Bay in North America. Cabot had to return to England because he was running out of supplies, and he died soon after returning. Samuel de Champlain (1567?-1635)

Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer, navigator, and mapmaker. He explored much of eastern Canada and became known as the father of New France, which was the French part of Canada. Champlain was born in Brouage, France. As a boy he learned how to navigate ships, and became a naval captain, like his father. In 1603 he went on his first voyage to Canada, as geographer on a fur-trading expedition. He travelled up the Saguenay, St. Lawrence, and Richelieu rivers and used the information he collected to make a very accurate map of Canada from Hudson Bay in the north down to the Great Lakes. In 1604 Champlain made his second trip to North America. He was looking for a place where French people could make a permanent settlement. Champlain remained for three years, exploring the Atlantic coast from the Bay of Fundy down to Cape Cod. On his third trip in 1608, Champlain founded a settlement and trading post along the St. Lawrence River that eventually became the city of Quebec. It was the first permanent white settlement in Canada, which makes Quebec the oldest city in Canada. He spent most of the rest of his life going back and forth between France and Canada. His goals were to map North America, find a quicker way to get to the Pacific Ocean, and teach North American natives about Christianity. In 1629 Quebec was captured by the English and Champlain was taken to England as a prisoner. When Canada was returned to France in 1633 he returned to his trading post and remained in Quebec until his death on Christmas Day in 1635.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (1451-1506)

Christopher Columbus is one of the best-known of all explorers. He is famous for his voyage in 1492, when he "discovered" America while he was looking for a way to sail to Asia. Columbus was probably born in Genoa, Italy, around 1451. His real name was Christoforo Columbo. His wife, a Portuguese woman who he married around 1480, was Felipa Perestrello e Moniz. They had one son named Diego. He made several voyages to the New World, which he thought was Asia. His first voyage took place in 1492. He led an expedition of three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. On October 12, 1492, the expedition landed on a small island in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus was sure that he was close to Asia. His second voyage was from 1493 to 1496. This time, he took 17 ships and 1200 sailors and colonists looking for riches in the New World and a quick route to Asia. On this trip, he explored Cuba and discovered the islands of Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico. He went again to the New World from 1498 to 1500. His final voyage was in 1502-1504. Christopher Columbus died in 1506. He was not the first European to find North America. The Vikings had come to northern North America hundreds of years earlier. However, Columbus is important because his explorations made Europeans much more aware of the New World and helped to encourage more exploration of North and South America in the 1500s. JAMES COOK (1728-1779)

James Cook, an English navigator, is often called the greatest explorer of the 18th century, for his voyages to the Pacific Ocean, and how he used science to help with his exploration and cartography.

He was born on October 27, 1728, and he was the son of a poor Scotsman who lived in Yorkshire. He started out in the navy as a lowly mate, in 1755, and in four years, he became a master. Then, he participated in naval operations during the Seven Years' War, as a surveyor, in command of the Mercury. When the war ended, in 1763, he again used his surveying skills by commanding the schooner Grenville, and he spent much time surveying Labrador, Nova Scottia, and Newfoundland. He studied mathematics very vigorously, and in 1766, he used a solar eclipse to measure the longitude of Newfoundland, and his findings were published in the Transactions of the Royal Society. When he returned to England in 1767, he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. He had three major voyages of exploration throughout his rather short life: the Voyage of the Endeavour, and the Voyages of the Resolution. The Voyage of the Endeavour In 1768, the Royal Society requested the Admiralty's help in observing the transit of Venus at Tahiti, which was to occur in June of 1769. This was part of a big project to help sailors figure out their longitude position at sea. Up to this time, it was impossible to do this accurately, so navigators had to guess, more or less, how far east or west they were at sea. James Cook was chosen as commander of this expedition, because of his abilities with navigation and mathematics. He was also given secret instructions to search for "terra australia incognita," or "the unknown southern land" in English . He left with his crew, many scientists, an astronomer, two botanists, and many artists, on August 26, 1768. During the voyage, Cook was smart to bring along provisions that lasted, so that crew members did not easily get scurvy. By April, 1769, the ship reached Tahiti's shores. In the three months that they spent there, the island was thoroughly surveyed, and the transit of Venus was observed on June 3, 1769. After leaving Tahiti, they sailed until they arrived on land on October 7, 1769. After their arrival, on an island which turned out to be New Zealand, Cook and his men explored and surveyed many various islands around the area. Then they sailed west, and reached the unexplored eastern coast of Australia. Cook sailed north along that coast to learn more about the land. Later, the Endeavor was damaged seriously by a coral reef, and it took two months of repair work to make the ship seaworthy again. Finally, on July 13, 1771, James Cook reached England. First Voyage of the Resolution Because the Admiralty was still not sure if there was a large southern continent, Cook was called on again to command the Resolution, which was accompanied by the Adventure. As before, they took along many scientists and artists. They left Plymouth on July 13, 1772. Once they reached the Cape of Good Hope, they then traveled south and crossed the Antarctic Circle. They found no continent, so they then explored the South Pacific. The two ships lost contact, and the Adventure returned to England. That was the first ship to circumnavigate the globe from west to east. But the Resolution kept exploring, and again crossed the Antarctic Circle, and again crossed the South Pacific, with much exploring along the way. He sailed across the South Atlantic, and again to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Finally, he sailed to England, and he reached the docks in 1775. He had finally proven that there was no large continent in the warmer part of the Pacific, but he was sure that there was an Antarctic continent. He was then elected into the Royal Society and was promoted to Captain. Then he again sailed on the Resolution. Second Voyage of the Resolution When he went exploring in the Arctic Ocean in search of Antarctica, the ship was damaged. He sailed to Hawaii for repairs, and he was killed an a small battle with some native Polynesians, on February 14, 1779. The Resolution then returned to England.

HERNN CORTS (1485-1547)

Hernn Corts was a Spanish explorer who is famous mainly for his march across Mexico and his conquering of the Aztec Empire in Mexico. Corts was born in the Spanish city of Medelln in 1485. When he was a young man, he studied law, but he soon gave that up to seek his fortune in the New World that was just being discovered by Columbus and others. First he went to the island of Santo Domingo (now known as the Dominican Republic) in 1504. He was only 19 years old at the time. He stayed there for seven years, then took part in the Spanish conquest of Cuba in 1511. He became mayor of Santiago de Cuba and stayed there until 1518. Corts was eager for more power and conquests, so he talked the Spanish governor of Cuba into letting him lead an expedition to Mexico in 1519. Mexico had just been discovered by the Spanish explorer de Crdoba a year before. At that time, Mexico was ruled by the Aztec Empire and its leader, Montezuma II. Corts arrived in Mexico in March 1519 with a group of about 600 men and a few horses. He soon learned of the Aztecs and began to make his way inland to the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitln. Along the way, he made friends with a native group called the Tlaxcalans, who were enemies of the Aztecs. The Tlaxcalans helped Corts against the Aztecs. In November of 1519, Corts and his men reached the Aztec capital and met Montezuma. The Aztecs may have thought that Corts was a god-king, and so they treated him and his soldiers well. However, Corts was afraid that the Aztecs might soon try to get rid of him, so he took Montezuma hostage and asked for a huge ransom of gold and jewels. It turned out that Corts was right and the Aztecs finally drove him and his men out of their city in June of 1520. But Corts regrouped and returned in the summer of 1521 to capture Tenochtitln. Soon after, he began to build Mexico City on the Aztec ruins and brought many Europeans over to live there. It soon became the most important European city in North America. Because of his conquests and all the gold and jewels he had collected, Corts was very popular back home in Spain and so he was made governor and captain general of New Spain in 1523. But he wasn't done exploring. In 1524, he led a group into Honduras and stayed in that area for two years. By 1528, the Spanish government was worried that Corts was getting out of control in the Americas, and so he had to give up his governor's job and was sent back to Spain. He spoke to the king, who was persuaded to send Corts back to Mexico in 1530, but with less power and freedom than before. In 1536, Corts explored the northwestern part of Mexico and discovered the Baja California peninsula. He also spent time exploring the Pacific coast of Mexico. This was the last major expedition by Corts. In 1539, he went back to Spain, and spent much of the rest of his life there before he died near Seville in 1547. VASCO da GAMA (1460?-1524)

The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama led an expedition at the end of the 15th century that opened the sea route to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. He was born about 1460 at Sines. He was a gentleman at court when he was chosen to lead the expedition to India. Many years of Portuguese exploration down the West African coast had been rewarded when Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. The Portuguese then planned to send a fleet to India for spices and to outflank the Muslims in Africa. Vasco da Gama was placed in command of the expedition. Four ships left Lisbon on July 8, 1497--the Sao Gabriel, on which da Gama sailed, the Sao Rafael, the Berrio, and a storeship. They stopped in the Cape Verde Islands; from there they did not follow the coast, as earlier expeditions had, but stood well out to sea. They reached the Cape of Good Hope region on November 7. The ships rounded the Cape on November 22. The expedition stopped on the East African coast, broke up the storeship, and reached Mozambique on Mar. 2, 1498. There they were assumed to be Muslims, and the sultan of Mozambique supplied them with pilots, who guided them on their journey northward. They stopped in Mombasa and Malindi before sailing to the east. They crossed the Indian Ocean in 23 days, aided by the Indian pilot Ibn Majid, and reached Calicut on May 20, 1498. The local ruler, the Zamorin, welcomed the Portuguese, who at first thought that the Indians, actually Hindus, were Christians. After one further stop on the Indian coast, the Portuguese set out to return with a load of spices. They took three months to recross the Indian Ocean, however, and so many men died of scurvy that one of the ships, the Sao Rafael, was burned for lack of a crew. The expedition made a few stops in East Africa before rounding the Cape of Good Hope on Mar. 20, 1499. The ships were separated off West Africa in a storm and reached Portugal at different times. Da Gama stopped in the Azores and finally reached Lisbon on Sept. 9, 1499. Da Gama's success led to the dispatch of another Portuguese fleet, commanded by Pedro Alvares Cabral. Some of the men Cabral left in India were massacred, so King Manuel ordered da Gama to India again. He was given the title of admiral and left Portugal in February 1502 with 20 ships. Da Gama's mission was a success, and the fleet returned to Lisbon in October 1503. Da Gama then settled in Portugal, married, and raised a family. He may have served as an advisor to the Portuguese crown and was made a count in 1519. King John III sent him to India in 1524 as viceroy, but he soon became ill and died in Cochin on Dec. 24, 1524.

Vasco de Gama was an important explorer and made a very important trip around the tip of Africa. He had a hard voyage, but made it back successfully. He was brave and a good leader. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE (1540?-1596)

Sir Francis Drake was always dreaming that he would sail, and he did. Drake was an Englishman who hoped to explore possibilities of trade and colonial settlement in the Pacific Ocean and to find the western outlet of the Northwest Passage. He wanted to find an undiscovered continent that was thought to lie in the Pacific. Drake became a ship's captain in 1567, and he lead several trading voyages from England to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. In 1577, Queen Elizabeth I chose him to lead a secret expedition to the Pacific coast of North America. He started his voyage on December 13, 1577. He and more than 160 men sailed from Plymouth on five ships, including Drake's flagship, the Golden Hind. After leaving Sao Tiago in the Cape Verde Islands, Drake's expedition met two Portuguese ships. He captured one of the vessels and gave its command to a friend, Thomas Doughty. The ships then sailed south along the Atlantic coast of South America and ran into violent storms. They stopped at San Julian. Before leaving San Julian, Drake destroyed the supply ships and the ships that he had picked up (the Portuguese ships) because they were in bad condition. The remaining three ships sailed through the Strait of Magellan. Shortly after that some more violent storms wrecked the Marigold and blew the Elizabeth off course forcing it to return to England. The storms also blew the Golden Hind, which he was sailing on, way to the south. Drake then headed north along the Pacific coast of South America. He captured a Spanish ship the Cacafuego and stole its cargo of gold, silver, and jewels. Loaded with treasure, the Golden Hind sailed north along the Pacific coast of North America. Drake then turned south and repaired his ship where what is now called San Fransico and named the new area New Albion. He claimed the land for England. Drake had planned to return to England through the Strait of Magellan, not to sail around the world. But he feared an attack from the Spanish if he sailed south again. So he decided to sail home by the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Drake stopped many times for supplies. After crossing the Indian ocean he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope. Drake reached Plymouth on September 26, 1580. He had been out at sea for almost three years and the voyage made him a national hero and he is still today. LEIF ERIKSSON (975-1020)

Leif Eriksson is the first in our list of Explorers of the Millennium. In fact, he was born in Iceland around 975, 25 years before the beginning of the millennium. He was a leader of Viking expeditions and may have been the first European to reach North America. He was the son of Eric the Red, who started the first European settlement of Greenland in 985. Leif went with his father to Greenland and lived there until 1000. In the year 1000, Leif sailed to Norway, which is where his family had originally come from. One story says that while he was in Norway, he may have become a Christian. King Olaf I of Norway wanted Leif to go back to Greenland and teach the Vikings there about Christianity. As Leif was sailing back to Greenland, he was blown off course and he ended up in North America instead of Greenland. Another version of Leif's story says that another Viking, Bjarni Herjolfsson, had already been to North America. Leif bought his boat and wanted to retrace Bjarni's route. So he sailed to North America, but not by mistake. He ended up in a place he called Vinland. This was probably the part of Canada now called Newfoundland. Leif went back to Greenland, and may very well have helped to convert the Greenlanders to Christianity. Lief Eriksson died around 1020. JOHN H. GLENN, JR. (born 1921)

Astronaut John Glenn prepares to orbit the Earth in 1962. John Glenn is a twentieth century hero in many people's eyes. He was the first American to orbit the earth in space. Later he became a renowned Senator from Ohio. And of course, in 1998, he became the oldest person ever to fly in space. John Herschel Glenn, Jr. was born July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio. In 1939, John Glenn started at Muskigum College. After three years, Glenn entered the Naval Aviation Academy as he was interested in preflight training. He became a part of the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943, in the middle of World War II. He also married Annie Caastor that year. When World War II broke out, Glenn served in it and attained the rank of colonel. From 1950-1953 he volunteered to keep flying in the military for the Korean War. For all of his bravery in these two wars, he received several medals. In 1957, John Glenn became the first person to make a nonstop supersonic (greater than the speed of sound) flight from Los Angeles to New York in less than 3 hours and 23 minutes. In 1959, after many flights

across America, Glenn was selected to become one of the first of seven astronauts in the U.S. space program. After many months of training, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn lifted off in his capsule Friendship 7. This flight was the first by an American to go around the Earth. It covered three orbits, over 81,000 miles and took over 4 hours and 55 min. He was scheduled to fly more orbits, but concern that his capsule's heat shield might be loose forced him to return to Earth early. As it turned out, the heat shield was fine. After his amazing expedition in space, John Glenn retired from the Marine Corps and in 1974 he won a Democratic seat in the Senate from Ohio. He was elected three more times after that and served until 1998 when he announced his retirement from the Senate. Even though most people believed his space flight days were over, John Glenn had other ideas. In October of 1998, John Glenn, at the age of 77, returned to space on the space shuttle. Accompanied by other astronauts, he lifted off into space once more to run tests on the changes older people experience in space. John Glenn is a hero, and a true explorer. Not only on land, but outside our planet and into space, a journey that will never end. HENRY HUDSON (?-1611?)

Henry Hudson was a very good navigator and sailor who named and explored Hudson Bay in Canada and the Hudson River in America. His quest was to find a shortcut from Europe to the Far East. Hudson was from England, but nothing is known about his life before 1607. On May 1, 1607, Hudson, his son, and 11 other crew members sailed from England on the Hopewell. He and his crew went past Greenland toward the North Pole. They were working for an English trading company and were hoping to find a quicker way to get from England to the Far East, by way of the Arctic Ocean. In the next two years, he tried twice more to find a "northeast passage" but failed and returned to England. The trading company would not send him on any more explorations. In 1609 he moved to Holland and sailed for a Dutch trading company on the ship named Half Moon. In 1609 he set sail from Amsterdam and headed north, again trying to find a way through the Arctic to the Far East. This time, conditions were so bad that his crew of about 20 men threatened to mutiny. Hudson turned the ship around and headed south down the east coast of Canada. Hudson was hoping that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were separated by just a thin strip of land, and that he would be the one to find the shortest way between the two oceans. He sailed into New York Bay in September of 1609 and explored a river which became known as the Hudson River for about 150 miles. He was looking for the shortcut to the Pacific, but of course, he did not find it, so he returned to Holland. He was told by Holland to go back to England. On his final journey from England in 1610, he again headed northwest towards Canada, this time on the ship Discovery. In August Hudson found a body of water which at first he thought was the Pacific Ocean. The body of water was a large bay, which eventually was named the Hudson Bay. In November 1610, the Discovery became locked in ice in Hudson Bay. The crew wanted to get back to England, but Hudson would not let them leave. It was a very cold winter, and the crew suffered greatly in the icy conditions. The crew was thinking of mutiny. In June 1611, they decided to put Hudson, his son, and the seven others into a small boat, and they were never heard from again. RENE-ROBERT CAVALIER, SIEUR de LaSALLE (1643 - 1687)

Rene-Robert de LaSalle was important because of his exploration of the Mississippi River in North America. He was the first European to sail down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed the Mississippi River Basin, which he called the Louisiana Territory, for France. He is sometimes called "the Father of the Louisiana Territory." He was born in France on November 24, 1643. He went to Jesuit schools. When he was 23, he set sail for Canada, with plans to be a farmer. However, La Salle became interested in fur trading and set up a fur trading post instead. He became friendly with the Iroquois Indians, and learned from them of a great river which led to a sea. He became convinced that this was the great water route that would lead to Asia and make trading with the Far East easier. He decided he would try to find that trade route. In 1669 he sold his land and spent two years exploring. He went up the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario, and probably to the Ohio River region after that, though we're not really sure because the records of this part of his trip were lost. We do know that he didn't find what he was looking for and that he returned to Canada. In 1677 he had grown bored with fur trading and asked Louis XIV for authorization to explore the western parts of New France. France was very interested in taking over more of North America. In 1679-80, LaSalle led a group that explored the Great Lakes and helped to establish French forts in the area. In 1682, LaSalle traveled down the Illinois River to the Mississippi and continued all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico. On April 9, 1682 La Salle claimed all of the Mississippi River Basin for France. That was an enormous amount of land because it included all the rivers and streams that feed into the Mississippi, and all of the land between. It includes much of the western part of North America. He named this area Louisiana in honor of the king. Later, in 1803, France sold this land to the United States, and that led to the explorations of Lewis and Clark and then the westward expansion of America. From 1684 to 1687, LaSalle led an expedition to further explore the southern end of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This expedition was full of problems. LaSalle didn't get along with other leaders. He became very sick. Many of his men were unhappy and deserted the expedition. On March 20, 1687 La Salle was assassinated in Texas by three of his own men. It was a sad end for an important explorer. MERIWETHER LEWIS (1774-1809) WILLIAM CLARK (1770-1838)

Lewis and Clark led one of the most famous exploring expeditions ever. In the early 1800s, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson wanted to learn more about the land west of the Mississippi River. The United States had just purchased a huge area of land from the French. This land became known as the Louisiana Purchase, and the land stretched from the Mississippi River all the way to the Pacific Ocean. No Americans had explored that area yet. Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis (top picture) to lead the expedition.

Lewis was born on August 18, 1774. He served in the army and was neighbors with Thomas Jefferson. He also served President Jefferson as his personal secretary. William Clark (bottom picture) was picked to assist Lewis as his partner. He had military experience and was known as a good leader. He also had taken part in some explorations. On May 14, 1804 the famous expedition to the west began. They took canoes and a group of about 30 volunteers along the Missouri River to the west. Along the trip they met an Indian named Sacagawea, who served as an interpreter for Lewis and Clark. During their expedition they met many Indian tribes and greeted them with peace by giving gifts. Since there were no telephones or telegraphs, Lewis and Clark had to write a description of what they saw and then send messengers back to Jefferson. The descriptions had to be kept from getting damaged because if the writings got wet the ink would blur. To keep them safe they put the descriptions in bottles. One famous part of the expedition was at the Three Forks. Clark took one part of the expedition down the one fork and Lewis the other. In autumn of 1805 the expedition arrived at the west coast and Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to see the Pacific Ocean. The expedition returned to St. Louis on September 20, 1806. They were away for over two years and traveled thousands of miles through very dangerous and difficult conditions, but only one of the expedition members died. The trip was considered a great success because of all the knowledge about the West that Lewis and Clark brought back with them. It was the beginning of the American westward movement. Pioneers began to settle the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific coast. Lewis and Clark became national heroes. Unfortunately, the stress and strain of the journey was hard for Lewis to handle. He never wrote the formal report of his experiences that he had promised President Jefferson, and he died three years later in 1809. Clark held up better and lived a productive life until his death in 1838. CHARLES A. LINDBERGH (1902-1974)

Charles Lindbergh did not discover any new lands, but he is important because he was one of the first men to explore the possibilities and limits of the airplane. His historic flight across the Atlantic helped to make air travel an accepted way of transportation. Lindbergh was born in Detroit and lived his childhood in Little Falls, Minnesota. Charles learned how to fly at age 20. In 1926 he heard of a $25,000 prize offered for the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh wanted to try, and some St. Louis businessmen sponsored him and helped him accomplish just that.

On May 20, 1927, Charles left Long Island in his airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis. He arrived in Paris on May 21, after flying over Ireland and England. When he landed at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he was mobbed by excited Parisians. He had flown 5,800 km in 33 1/2 hours. Charles returned home to America and another hero's welcome. DAVID LIVINGSTONE (1813-1873)

David Livingstone was born on March 13, 1813 in Blantyre, Scotland, near Glasgow. He became a doctor and a missionary, and devoted much of his life to exploring Africa. He helped Europeans learn a lot about the continent of Africa. Livingstone was one of the first Europeans to explore the central and southern parts of Africa. He first went to Africa as a Christian missionary in 1841, when he was 27 years old. He decided that the best way to teach Africans about Christ was to move about and see as many people as he could. That is how he became an African explorer. He married Mary Moffat in 1845 and she (and later their children) came along with Livingstone on his early explorations. In 1849, he led a group of Europeans across the Kalahari Desert and discovered Lake Ngami. Two years later, he again travelled through the Kalahari with his family. He continued crossing the continent of Africa during three different time periods: 1852-56, 1858-64, and 1866-73. In 1856, he travelled on the Zambezi River, and became the first European to see the spectacular Victoria Falls. He also became the first European to cross the entire width of southern Africa. These accomplishments made him very famous in England. He wrote a book about his experiences in Africa and traveled around England giving speeches in 1856 and 1857. Livingstone went back to Africa in 1858 and is credited with the discovery of Lake Nyasa in 1858, the Chilwa River in 1859, and more of the Nile River. In 1866 David Livingstone went on an expedition to discover more of the Nile River. While on this expedition he was lost and no one heard from him. In 1871, a New York reporter, Henry Morton Stanley, led an expedition to find him. When they found him, Stanley said those famous words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume." In May, 1873 after Stanley left Livingstone to learn the customs of an Indian tribe, Livingstone was found on his knees, dead in prayer. His body, along with his personal items and papers, were sent back to England. This journey took almost a full year. He was buried in Westminster Abbey in London in April, 1874.

As part of his travels, David Livingstone learned more about African customs, geography, and the slave trade than any other European. David Livingstone's expeditions helped the world learn about the continent of Africa. FERDINAND MAGELLAN (1480-1521)

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea captain. He was the commander of the expedition that became the first to sail around the world. He first went to sea in 1505. He was interested in the way that Columbus sailed and studied Columbus's maps of his routes for many years. He was sure that he could get to the riches of the Far East quicker by sailing westward, but he had no idea how far it really was from Europe to the Far East. In 1513 Magellan asked King Manuel of Portugal for permission to sail to the Spice Islands in the Far East. These islands grew cloves and many other spices which would be very valuable if brought back to Spain. His best maps convinced him that he could sail to the Spice Islands (which are now part of Indonesia) by going around the southern tip of South America. He thought that this route would be shorter than the eastward trip to the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. Of course, he thought that the Spice Islands were very close to South America. He didn't realize how big the Pacific Ocean was. Nobody knew at that time. King Manuel refused Magellan's proposal because he didn't like Magellan. Magellan then studied astronomy and navigation for about two years. He met a man named Ruy Falesrio who enjoyed listening to what Magellan had to say. He influenced Magellan's life and in a way became Magellan's partner. They finished their studies on the territory of the Spice Islands, that were awarded to Spain in 1494. In 1518 Magellan went left Portugal and went to Spain. He presented the information he had learned about the Spice Islands. The year after that, Magellan convinced King Charles I of Spain to support his voyage. The king promised Magellan one-fifth of the profits from the voyage to the Spice Islands. Getting the voyage ready took more that a year. The voyage began on September 20, 1519. His first destination was southern Spain. From his ship Magellan commanded a total of 241 men and a fleet of five ships. The fleet sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to South America. The ships followed the South American coast. They landed on the bay where Rio de Janeiro now stands. They remained there for two weeks and then sailed south to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean. However, they could not find the passage before the end of summer in the southern hemisphere. In late March 1520, Magellan's fleet anchored for the winter at Puerto San Julian in what is now southern Argentina. During the winter a storm destroyed the Santiago. In addition, a mutiny broke out shortly after the men set up their winter quarters. Magellan and his crew resumed their voyage on Oct. 18, 1520. They were the first Europeans ever to sail across the Pacific, and it was far larger then anyone had imagined. They went for 98 days without seeing any land and ran out of food and used almost all their water. They ate rats and sawdust to avoid starvation. Nineteen men died before they reached the Pacific island of Guam on March 6, 1521. Conflicts with the people of Guam and the nearby islands prevented Magellan from fully resupplying his ships. The crew finally got enough food to set out westward again, toward the Philippines.

Magellan and his crew stayed in the Philippines for many weeks and they got to know the islanders very well. On April 27, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan was killed when he took part in a battle between rival Filipino groups on the island of Mactan. After the battle only about 110 of the original members remained. That was not enough to sail three ships. Therefore they abandoned one of the ships, called Conception. The two remaining ships sailed to the Spice Islands. At the Spice Islands the ships were loaded up with spices for the trip back. The ship called the Trindad tried to return back to Spain the same way they had came. They sailed eastward across the Pacific Ocean but were caught in really bad weather. More than half of the crew members died. The rest of the group was forced to return to the Spice Islands and where they arrived there, the Portuguese imprisoned them. The last ship that remained was the Victoria. That ship continued back to Spain. The Victoria experienced many hardships and many of the crew members died of malnutrition and starvation. Finally, on September 6, 1522, they reached Sanlucar de Barrameda in Spain, nearly three years after the voyage started. Five ships and 241 men began the journey. Only eighteen survivors returned to the starting spot. Those people completed the first voyage around the world that started with the dream of Ferdinand Magellan. JACQUES MARQUETTE (1637-1675) LOUIS JOLLIET (sometimes spelled Joliet) (1645-1700)

Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet searched together and found the waters of the Mississippi River. They were the first Europeans to follow the course of the river. Jacques Marquette (also known as Father Marquette) was a Catholic missionary and explorer. He was born in Laon, France. In 1666 came to Qubec, Canada and learned Indian languages. From 1669 to 1671 he worked in missions in Sault Sainte Marie (Michigan) and La Pointe (Wisconsin). Around this time, he first met Louis Jolliet, who was trading with Indians in the same area. Jolliet was a French-Canadian trader and explorer. Jolliet was born near Qubec City and raised in a Jesuit seminary. In 1668 he decided that he didn't want to become a priest and he became a trader with the Indians instead. From 1669 to 1671 Jolliet explored a lot of the Great Lakes region. During that time he became a great map maker, also worked as a fur trader, and met Marquette. In 1672, Jolliet was named leader of an expedition that would explore the northern part of the Mississippi River the following year. Jolliet asked Father Marquette to be the chaplain of this group. Along with five others, Jolliet and Marquette crossed Lake Michigan, and explored the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, before reaching the Mississippi River. They followed the Mississippi southward past the mouth of the Arkansas River, then returned northward. After the expedition, Marquette stayed by Lake Michigan and Jolliet returned to Qubec. Father Marquette preached among the Illinois Indians until his death in 1675. On his way back to Qubec, when Jolliet was on Lake Michigan, his canoe turned over and all his precious maps and journals of his trips were lost, but he was able to replace most of the information from memory. Later, he explored other parts of Canada, such as Labrador and Hudson Bay. Louis Jolliet died in 1700 at the age of 55. Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920) Matthew Henson (1866-1955)

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson opened up the gateway to the North Pole. In 1909 they became the first people to make it to the North Pole. Robert Peary, who led many expeditions to the Pole and Greenland, chose Matthew Henson to be his assistant. Henson, an African-American, also opened up exploration for his race. Peary was born on May 6, 1856 in Cresson, Pennsylvania. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1881 and was there until he retired. Henson was born on August 8, 1866 in Charles County, Maryland. He was orphaned at the age of 12. He ran away as a cabin boy on the ship Katie Hines. Henson met Peary while working in a store in Washington D.C. Peary invited Henson to accompany him on his exploration of Nicaragua in 1888. From that point on they would be partners in many historical explorations. One of their first expeditions was when they traveled to the interior of Greenland in 1886. Peary led an expedition in 1891 to Northern Greenland. On this trip Peary proved that Greenland was an island. Through these expeditions Henson was his personal assistant and dog driver. In 1898 the two, along with others, traveled on the ship The Windward to discover the North Pole. After four years they did not reach the pole. The expedition traveled farther north than anyone had reached in the American Arctic, 390 miles south of the pole. In 1905 they tried again on The Roosevelt, a ship designed to sail among masses of moving ice. Hardships forced the party to go back after coming within 200 miles south of the pole, another record. In 1908 Peary and Henson set out over ice from Ellesmere Island. On April 6, 1909 they finally reached the North Pole. The first people ever to set foot on the North Pole that day were Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, who were accompanied by four Eskimos. It is said that Peary had to rest three miles from the pole making Henson the first American to reach the North Pole. Trips to the North and South Pole have been done pretty often in recent times. There's even a whole command base near the South Pole. Robert Peary helped to open up the world to the coldest places on Earth while Matthew Henson became the first African-American to reach the North Pole. Robert Peary retired from the Navy in 1911 with the rank of rear admiral. He had three books published about his explorations. Robert Peary died on February 20, 1920 in Washington D.C. In 1913 President Taft made Henson clerk in the New York Customs House which he held until 1936. Henson earned a master's degree from Harvard University in the 1930's. In 1944 Matthew Henson

received the Congressional Medal of Honor, a very prestigious award. Henson passed away on March 5, 1955 in New York City. Marco Polo (1254-1324)

Marco Polo is famous for his travels through Asia. He was one of the first Europeans to travel into Mongolia and China. He became famous for his book that told the story of his travels along the Silk Road to China. Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy around 1254. In 1271, when he was 17 years old, he traveled to Asia with his father and uncle. On this journey, he became a favorite of Kublai Khan, the Mongol Emperor. He roamed through Mongolia and China for 17 years. He traveled farther into China than any European had gone before. Finally, he took a ride to Persia and then back home. In all, he was gone for 24 years! When he returned to Venice in 1295, he became a popular storyteller. People gathered at his home to hear his stories of his travels in the Far East. In 1298, there was a conflict between Venice and Genoa. Polo was captured by the Genoese and imprisoned by them. While in jail, Marco dictated the story of his travels to a writer who published the book, The Travels of Marco Polo. The book helped to make Europeans very interested in trading with China and the Far East, and that led to the explorations of Columbus and many others who were searching for a quicker way to sail to China and India. Marco Polo died in 1324. SALLY RIDE (born 1951)

People have discovered a lot about outer space. There have been many great astronauts like Neil Armstrong and John Glenn. But what about the amazing women who went into space? What about those females who risked their lives to accomplish their dreams? Many great women have gone up into space but the one I am writing about was the first American to go into space, Sally Ride. Sally Kristen Ride was born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. When she was a child, she wanted to be a pro athlete when she grew up. She played softball, football, and tennis. Tennis became her best sport. She was a nationally ranked amateur tennis player. By her senior year at Westlake High school, she was captain of her tennis team. When she was at Stanford University, tennis pro Billie Jean King saw her play. She told Sally to leave college and become a pro tennis player. Ride decided to stay in school.

Ride's favorite subjects were math and science. She was a member of a research team that studied highenergy lasers. Sally chose to study for a doctorate in physics which took about five years. Ride finished her doctoral work in 1978. Ride also joined NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1978. She was first a capsule communicator for Space Shuttle flights STS-2 and STS-3. That means that she talked to the shuttle crew from Mission Control while they were in space. Sally was so good at that job and everything else that she did that NASA decided she would be the first American woman to go into space. Immediately, Sally Ride became a celebrity. Shuttle flight STS-7 departed from Earth on June 18th, 1983, with Sally Ride aboard. Her job on the shuttle was flight engineer. That meant that she was in charge of making sure that the shuttle's mechanical systems were performing properly. She also had to explain problems to commander Robert Crippen. This shuttle's mission purpose was to put two satellites from Canada and Indonesia into orbit around the Earth. After doing this successfully. Sally Ride and her fellow astronauts returned to Earth. She was now the first American woman to go into space. In 1984, Ride left on another shuttle. This one was called 41-G. She also successfully accomplished her mission on that shuttle. When she returned to Earth, Ride moved to the administrative end of NASA. She was assigned to issuing the "Ride Report," which presented new information on the upcoming flights. After Ride had done this for a couple of years she left NASA in 1987. She got a job teaching at Stanford. She told of her wonderful experiences with NASA. Sally Ride is a role model for all women. She shows that if you really want to do something you can, no matter what. Ride affected many people. Most importantly, she changed society for women. Follow this link to find out more about Sally Ride! SACAGAWEA (1789?-1814?) (also spelled Sacajawea)

Have you seen the new US one-dollar coin? It features a picture of the Native American woman Sacagawea, but many people don't know who she was. Sacagawea was an important part of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. She was really very interesting. It is believed that Sacagawea was born around the year 1789, near the place that is now called Salmon,Idaho. Sacagawea was born into a tribe called the Shoshoni. The Shoshoni tribe lived in Idaho, parts of Utah, and parts of Northern Nevada. The name Sacagawea means "boat launcher" or "bird girl." At age ten she was captured by a raiding band of Hidatsa, who took her to their camp near the border of North Dakota. Sacagawea was then sold to a French-Canadian fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau. In 1804, the Corps of Discovery (the Lewis and Clark expedition) had camped for the winter at Fort Mandan in Northern Dakota. Charbonneau was also spending the winter there with Sacagawea, his pregnant wife. When winter started, Charbonneau was hired to guide Lewis and Clark because of his knowledge of the country where he traded. He was instructed to bring Sacagawea and her baby boy, Jean Baptiste (also known as Pomp), with him on the expedition. She and her baby were brought so it would establish that the peaceful nature of the expedition and because it would be useful to have someone who spoke Native languages and was familiar with more than one tribe. With her knowledge of the languages, customs and tribes, Sacagawea became a Native translator and negotiator for the Corps of Discovery.

She also knew the land well. Sacagawea's knowledge of the terrain and mountain passes saved weeks of travel time. Her ability to speak and negotiate with Native tribes allowed the expedition to keep fresh horses and food all along the way. When food was scarce, Sacagawea got and prepared roots, nuts, berries, and other edible plants in order to provide the group with tasty nourishment. An incredible part of her story is that the path of Lewis and Clark took Sacagawea back to the Shoshoni tribe of her childhood. There she was reunited with her long-lost brother, who was now a Shoshoni chief. The Shoshoni, who were ready to attack this group of intruders, instead welcomed them with open arms. Sacagawea's brother made sure that the expedition was well taken care of with horses, food, and wintertime shelter. Without this help, the Corps of Discovery may never have completed their journey. After the expedition was over, Clark was so concerned about Sacagawea's welfare at the hands of her abusive and wife-beating Chardonneau that he proposed taking the infant boy to St. Louis to be raised in safety. It is known that after the expedition she did take her son to St. Louis where he was raised as Clark's own. Sacagawea left Charbonneau to spend time in St. Louis with her son. One account says that Sacagawea died of "putrid fever" at age 25. Clark's account of the members of his expedition mark her as dead. Native accounts, however, especially Shoshoni oral history, have Sacagawea (using the name Porivo) marrying several times and having more children. Porivo was thought to be Sacagawea because it is said that she knew details of the Lewis and Clark expedition that could not possibly be known by someone who was not part of the group. She died at age 96. Many people believe that Porivo was Sacagawea. Nobody really knows for sure. VALENTINA TERESHKOVA (1937- )

Valentina Tereshkova (te-ruhsh-koh`-vuh) is a Russian who became the first woman to fly in space in 1963. She was a textile worker and amateur parachute jumper when she was selected to be in the Soviet Union cosmonaut program in 1962. (Cosmonaut is the Russian word for astronaut.) She was the first cosmonaut who was not a test pilot. She was chosen mainly because of her experience with parachute jumping. She had made more than a hundred jumps. After 18 months of training, Tereshkova's Vostok 6 spacecraft launched. On June 16, 1963 she went into orbit and in about 80 hours (more than three days) completed 48 orbits before returning to Earth. She parachuted from her spacecraft as it fell to Earth. That is how the Vostok spacecraft worked. With this flight, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. There wouldn't be another Russian woman in space until 1982. The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, made her first flight in 1983. In 1963 Tereshkova married a cosmonaut named Adrian Nikolayev. In 1964 they had a daughter. This event was of medical interest because Valentina and Adrian had both been exposed to space. Later on, the couple divorced. Tereshkova never flew in space again. She served in the Soviet parliament for a while. AMERIGO VESPUCCI (1454-1512)

Amerigo Vespucci is important because he was one of the early explorers of the New World, and also because the continents of North and South America were named in his honor. (He was also known by the name of Americus Vespucci.) Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy in 1454. He was well-educated by his uncle, and became a businessman involved in trading goods. That is how he became familiar with ships. He moved to Seville, Spain in 1491 to work in the trading business there. He was probably there when Christopher Columbus returned from his first journey to the New World. He then helped Columbus get ships ready for his second and third voyages to the New World. Vespucci was a skilled navigator. As a trader, he was very interested in finding a quicker way to sail to Asia. He went on at least two, and possibly four, voyages to Central and South America between 1497 and 1504 for Spain and Portugal. He went to many places, including Venezuela and Brazil. After his explorations in 1501-1502, he was one of the first explorers to come up with the idea that these places he had visited were not part of Asia (as Columbus thought) but rather were part of a "New World." In 1507, a pamphlet was published called "The Four Voyages of Amerigo" and the author suggested that the new land that Amerigo had explored be named in his honor. At first, the name of America was only meant to apply to South America, but later on, both continents of America became known by his name. After his explorations, Amerigo returned to Seville and became its Master Navigator. He stayed in that job until he died in 1512.