Vespucci realized the land he was exploring was a separate continent and not part of Asia, as he and many others believed at the time. The continents of North and South America are named after him.

He was the first European explorer to sail around the tip of Africa, proving the Atlantic Ocean connects to the Indian Ocean, which opened opportunities for a new trade route to India.

He led the first circumnavigation of the world, and is considered the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean

He explored much of the North American east coast from North Carolina up to Maine, and was the first European to reach present day New York

English captain and navigator who discovered the Hudson River, Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay and sailed through parts of the Arctic on his search for a Northwest Passage to China