Famous First: Famous First: Explorers and ExpeditionsExplorers and Expeditions

Outdoor Culture and TechnologyOutdoor Culture and Technology

The Walker SchoolThe Walker School

Mr. Thomas CooperMr. Thomas Cooper

Earl V. ShafferEarl V. Shaffer

• Earl V. Shaffer lived from November 8, 1918 to May 5, 2002

• From 1948, known as The Crazy One for attempting what became the first documented hiking trip over the entire length of the Appalachian Trail 

• Unlike modern day hikers, all he had was worn boots and his army rucksack; no stove or even tent

• At the age of 79, he hiked the Appalachian Trail once more in 174 days

Dr. / Sir Gilbert Blane Dr. / Sir Gilbert Blane • Gilbert Blane lived from August

29, 1749 to June 26, 1843

• First person to discover, in 1779, that having lemon and lime juice in a person’s diet prevented sailors from getting scurvy. The British Royal Navy made it mandatory for sailors to eat and drink both lemons and limes.

• Was only a physician on a British war ship in the Revolutionary War before he found the cure for scurvy and later a vaccine for smallpox

Henry Morton StanleyHenry Morton Stanley

• Henry Morton Stanley lived from January 28, 1841 to May 10, 1904.

• Following the Civil War, Stanley began a career as a journalist.

• Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871 and outfitted an expedition with the best of everything, requiring no fewer than 200 porters. This 700-mile expedition through the tropical forest became a nightmare.

Alexander van HumboldtAlexander van Humboldt • Lived from September 14, 1769 to May 6,

1859• He became the first person to examine

Latin America from a scientific point of view (1799-1804).

• He was one of the first to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic were once joined (South America and Africa in particular). Later, his five-volume work, Kosmos (1845), attempted to unify the various branches of scientific knowledge.

• He also is credited for laying the foundation for physical geography and meteorology by explaining his theories of isotherms and decreased magnetic force at the equator(1817).

• While at the young age of 10, Humboldt had to deal with the death of his father.

John Wesley PowellJohn Wesley Powell

• John Wesley Powell lived from March 24,1834 to September 23, 1902.

• In 1869, he became the first person to find a route through the Grand Canyon via rivers (The Green and Colorado rivers).

• During the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862, Powell lost one arm from a shot from a musket ball.

Laird Hamilton Laird Hamilton • Born March 2,1964 (living)

• Hamilton is one of the most influential surfers today and is also credited for creating tow-in-surfing allowing one to catch faster and larger waves (in the mid-1990’s).

• In Hamilton’s teenage years, he was often mocked because of how different he looked making it difficult for him to accomplish some of his goals.

• His mother died of a brain aneurysm in 1997.

Captain James CookCaptain James Cook

• Lived from October 27, 1728 to February 14, 1779.

• Cook accomplished many things in his life including mapping the area known as Newfoundland (in 1764) and making three journeys to the Pacific waters near Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii between 1768-1779.

• Cook had many jobs and occupations distracting him from his true calling, exploration.

Kit DesLauriersKit DesLauriersBorn November 17,1969 (living)

DesLauriers is famous for being the first woman to climb and ski down Mount Aspiring in New Zealand and the first woman to ski down Mount Everest. She is also credited with being the first person in the world to have skied off the tops of the 7 Summits; the highest points on each of the 7 continents.

• She volunteered extensively with the San Miguel County Search and Rescue Team often as the team leader of the entire rescue operation. Kit became a certified EMT as well as highly trained in technical and helicopter rescue.

Robert F. ScottRobert F. Scott

• Lived from June 6, 1868 to March 29, 1912

• Scott was the leader of two Antarctic expeditions including the Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions which he led to the Antarctic Circle. He was also the first person to reach the South Pole (1912).

• It took Scott many years to establish himself as a Naval officer making it difficult for him to grasp the position as the leader of the expeditions.

Matthew FlindersMatthew Flinders

• Lived from March 16, 1774 to July 19, 1814.

• Flinders is commonly recognized as the first person to name the continent of Australia. The name was finally accepted when people read his book published in 1814 after his death.

• Flinders was imprisoned for many years by the French.

Leif ErikssonLeif Eriksson • Lived from 970 to 1020

• In the 11th Century, Leif Eriksson was the first European to reach mainland America in what is now known as Newfoundland.

• Eriksson had to avoid being hunted down because he was the son of an outlaw.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary

• Lived from July 20,1919 to January 11, 2008.

• Hillary and his climbers were the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 19, 1953.

• Growing up, he was very shy and he was a tall, gangly teenager.

David LivingstoneDavid Livingstone

• Lived from March 19,1813 to May 1,1873.

• Livingstone is the first European to ever reach and see Mosi-oa-Tunya or known better as Victoria Falls (1852-1856).

• Toward the end of his life, Livingston had to deal with many illnesses which limited his ability to explore.

Reinhold MessnerReinhold Messner • Born September 17, 1944

(living)

• Messner is the first man to climb Mount Everest by himself and accomplish this feat without supplemental oxygen. He is also the only man to climb all 14 summits of 8000 meters above sea level (1978).

• On a Himalayan climb in the 1970’s, Messner’s brother died on the descent down the face of a mountain.

SacajaweaSacajawea• Lived from 1788 to

December 20, 1812.

• She was the first woman to help lead an American expedition through the western part of the United States of America (1804-1806). She assisted explorers Lewis and Clark

• During the journey, Sacajawea gave birth to a child whom she carried throughout the rest of the journey.

Roald Engelbregt AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Amundsen• Lived from July 16, 1872

to June 18, 1928

• Amundsen is also credited with being the first man to reach the South Pole. In addition, he is the first person to reach the North Pole (1911).

• Surprisingly, his mother held him back from his dream of being an explorer. Amundsen began his explorations after her death.

Jacques Piccard Jacques Piccard • Lived from July 28, 1922 to the

present day

• Piccard is the first of two people to reach the deepest part of the earth, the Mariana Trench just east of the coast of Japan (1960).

• Jacques' father , Auguste Piccard, twice beat the record for reaching the highest altitude in a balloon. His father was known to be very tough on him.

Charles Marie de la CondamineCharles Marie de la Condamine

• Lived from January 28, 1701 to February 4, 1774

• De la Condamine and his men were the first people to conduct a scientific exploration of the Amazon around the1730’s and 1740’s.

• Due to the extensive time exploring, he became low on funding making it difficult for him to continue his trek.

Yuri GagrinYuri Gagrin

• Lived from March 9, 1934 to March 27, 1968.

• He was the first man in the world to launch into space and to orbit the earth (1961).

• As a child, he and his family were torn apart by the Nazi occupation of The Soviet Union.

Martin BehaimMartin Behaim

• Lived from October 6, 1459 to July 29, 1507

• Behaim was a German navigator and geographer and is credited with creating the first terrestrial globe named the Erdapfel .

• Unfortunately, the globe was not accurate.

Sue HendricksonSue Hendrickson • Born December 2,1949 (living)

• She was the first woman to find an almost complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was also the largest found (1990).

• In 1992, she joined a team of marine archaeologists headed by Frank Goddio. With them, she took part in many diving expeditions. The most notable of which were the Royal Quarters of Cleopatra and Napoleon Bonaparte’s lost fleet from the Battle of the Nile.

John FranklinJohn Franklin

• Lived from April 16, 1786 to June 11, 1847.

• Sir Franklin was a Naval officer in the British Royal Navy. He was an Arctic explorer who also mapped almost two-thirds of the northern coastline of North America.

• Franklin and his men perished during an expedition to the Northwest Passage.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh

• Lived from February 4, 1902 to August 28, 1974.

• He was the first man to fly a non-stop, solo transatlantic flight from New York (Roosevelt field) to Paris, France (Le Bourget Field). He was awarded the Medal of Honor.

• After the attack on Pearl Harbor , Lindbergh flew as a civilian when President Roosevelt refused to reinstate him in the Army Air Force.

Sir Ranulph FiennesSir Ranulph Fiennes

• Born March 7, 1944 (living)

• He is the first man to reach the North and South poles by surface means, and the first person to cross the Antarctic on foot (1979-1982).

• His father died shortly after he was born leaving only his mother and him behind.

Mary KingsleyMary Kingsley

• Lived from October 13, 1862 to June 3, 1900.

• Kingsley was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Cameroon and conquer a route never to be achieved by another European (1895).

• Throughout her life, she cared for her invalid mother and later her ill father.

Gil EannesGil Eannes

• Lived in the 15th Century

• He was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who was the first to sail beyond Cape Bojador in 1434.

• Eannes had to overcome the fears of sailing that far out . The sailors feared the Green Sea of Darkness and the violent storms and strong currents.

Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan

• Lived from the spring of 1480 to April 27, 1521

• Magellan was the first man to successfully circumnavigate the earth, to discover the strait of Magellan and is also the first man to find the Pacific Ocean (1521).

• He had difficulty convincing others to support his explorations.

Neil Armstrong Neil Armstrong • Born August 5, 1930

(living)

• Neil Armstrong is an astronaut and commonly known as the first man to walk on the moon (1969). He received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

• Neil is only one of two members of his family to go to college.

• He refuses all requests for autographs.

“That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

Marco PoloMarco Polo• Lived from September 15,

1254 to January 9, 1324.

• Marco Polo is recognized as the first man to trade throughout far-east Asia bringing back goods and ideas to all of Europe(1266).

• Polo had to deal with the extreme turmoil in the lands he traveled to when trading with others.

Robert De La SalleRobert De La Salle • Lived from November 22,

1643 to March 19, 1687.

• He was the first man to discover and sail through the Great Lakes and down through the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico (1670-1680).

• During his last expedition, there was much conflict among him and his crew. He grew ill and was later executed by his men.

Robert E. PerryRobert E. Perry

• Lived from May 6, 1856 to February 20, 1920.

• He was the first person to reach the geographic North Pole (1909).

• Perry had a rough time being faithful to his wife. On early expeditions he had a child from an Inuit woman and this information was released to the public.

Sebastian CabotSebastian Cabot

• Lived from 1474 to 1557

• Though he had many travels around the world, he was the first man to establish a Spanish settlement in Uruguay.

• Cabot had many troubles with the law and later on in his life he was banished to North Africa.

Juan Bautista de AnzaJuan Bautista de Anza

• Lived from July 1736 to December 19, 1788

• In late 1779, Anza and his party found a route from Santa Fe to Sonora.

• Anza had difficulty settling the area of the eastern plains due to conflicts with Comanche Native Americans.

Captain William BlighCaptain William Bligh• Lived from September 9,1754

to December 7,1817.

• He was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator.

• William Bligh's naval career consisted of a variety of appointments and assignments. In 1776, Bligh was selected by Captain James Cook for the position of Sailing Master on the Resolution and accompanied Captain Cook in July 1776 on Cook's third and fatal voyage to the Pacific.

Vasco Nunez de BalboaVasco Nunez de Balboa

• Lived from 1475 to January 15, 1519.

• He was a conquistador and explorer . He was the first man to reach the Pacific Ocean by way of the New Land (1513).

• Balboa was beheaded for treason by Governor Devila of Panama.

Daniel BooneDaniel Boone

• Lived from November 2, 1734 to September 26, 1820

• He was the first man to establish an English-speaking settlement past the Mississippi River (1775).

• When settling the town, Boone endured many attacks from the natives in order to keep his settlement alive.