Ferdinand Magellan (c.1480-1521)

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sailor who completed the first circumnavigation of the earth. In 1519 he set out from Spain under the auspices of King Charles I to search for a new water route to the so-called Spice Islands. His record-setting travels have left a significant legacy. The strait that separates South America from Antarctica bears Magellan’s name, and his designation of “Mare Pacificum,” or peaceful sea, is immortalized as the Pacific Ocean. Magellan and his crew first established and explained the need for an International Date Line, and were the first Europeans to visit many islands in the South Pacific including the Marianas and the Philippines.

Ortelius includes a prominent illustration of Magellan’s ship the Victoria on his map of the Pacific. It was in this vessel that Magellan’s crew completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth.