10 epic journey of discovery
10 epic journey of discovery
People are an fearless breed. For centuries, discoverers on the horizon have disappeared in search of new countries and distant coasts on epic journey of discovery. Thanks to these pioneers, we can now and forever enter their footsteps.
While a new generation of visionaries - from Elon Musk from SpaceX to Richard Branson from Virgin Galactic - is looking forward to new borders, let's take a look back and pay tribute to the most epic undertakings in history.
1. Roald Amundsen's expedition by the northwest passage 1903–1906
alt = “epic journey of discovery”> Countingpine/Public Domain
Amundsen is better known to be the first person to reach the South Pole, which is epic enough. However, he first made a name for himself in history by undertooking a three -year journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific over the Arctic Ocean to the first time to conquer the epic route that has been searched for for centuries.
As if sailing on the complex waterways were not impressive enough, Amundsem then drove 800 kilometers on skis across Alaska to send a telegram over his success. Then he drove the 800 kilometers back. (Norwegian, right?)
2. Livingstones trips through Africa 1851–1873
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The almost mythical status of David Livingstone is not without earnings. It is probably the best known for his crossing of the African continent (1852–56), his shipping on the Sambesi (1858–64) and the search for the source of the Nile (1866–73).
Livingstone traveled in a row for years (lost for the outside world for six years) and finally died of malaria in today's Zambia. Today his name is immortalized with countless places and monuments that were named in honor of Africa and beyond.
3. Shackletons failed transantarctic expedition 1914–17
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The expedition should be the first to cross the Antarctic, but unfortunately it suffered catastrophic events in almost every phase. It started when the Endurance expedition ship was caught in the ice and then broke apart under the load. After camping on the moving ice cream and the marches to the mainland had failed, the group started three lifeboats for Elephant Island.
Shackleton and five others then sailed in an open boat towards South Georgia, about 1,287 km away. After reaching the island, they had to cross them on foot to reach a whaling station. Finally, three years after he left, he returned to collect the others without losing life.
4. Cooks trip on board the Endavour1768–1771
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Captain James Cook made three trips through the Pacific and left his name and sign on countless islands in the ocean. I actually stopped counting how many places we visited, which mention his name in a landing site, a memorial or in a case of an entire island group (of course the cook islands).
Before that, on his first trip on board the HMS Endavour, he circled the world via Cape Hoorn, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and the Cape of Good Hope. On the way, Cook managed to follow the transit of Venus through the sun in 1769 and to map large areas of the largely undiscovered Australia.
5. Lewis and Clark expedition 1804-1806
Alt = “Epic journey of discovery cards-4 ″> Victor van Werkhoven/public domain
What do you do if your president buys a territory and doubles the size of your country? Of course, explore it. The United States was a completely different place in the early 19th century when President Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory of France for about 4 cents a morning. He had to explore and map the newly acquired country and a route through the western half of the continent.
Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark followed the Missouri River to the west and covered huge distances, over the move over violent rapids and enemy conditions and built up (often tense) relationships with the indigenous population. The group reached the Pacific Ocean at the end of 1805.
6. Fridtjof Nansen's crossing of Greenland 1888
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nansen looks tough - as a explorer should do. He was not only hard, but also clever. The crossing of Greenland was disabled by disorders, including a late landing, terrible weather conditions, a dramatic change in the route and finally missing the back boat home.
nansen spent seven months in Greenland and waited for the next ship. Nansen used this time and the previous expedition to perfect techniques and innovations in polar equipment and clothing and to pave the way for future similar expeditions. Later he claimed the record for reaching the northernmost latitude during his North Pole Expedition (1893–96).
7. Charles Lindbergh's first solo transatlantic flight 1927
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1919 the hotelier Raymond Orweig offered the first person to take a non-stop flight between New York and Paris. Charles Lindbergh needed eight years to raise capital and procure a plane suitable for the flight.
When Lindbergh with the Spirit of St. Louis from New York took off, six well -known planes had already lost their lives on the hunt for the price. 33.5 hours later he landed in front of more than 100,000 spectators in Paris.
8. Burke and Wills' crossing Australia 1860–61
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Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills led an unfortunate expedition of 19 men from Melbourne on the south coast of Australia's 2,000 miles (3,250 km) to the north coast. The party was stopped five kilometers off the coast.
Unfortunately, both expedition leaders were killed on the somewhat ridiculous and tragic return trip together with five others. At one point, the returning group missed their rendezvous by only nine hours. Only one of the originally 19 men of the expedition crossed the continent and returned to Melbourne alive.
9. Magellan's near-circuit 1519-1522
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The Portuguese discoverer would have been just as the first person to sail the world. Instead, he went to Juan Sebastián Elcano, who took the command about the expedition after Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines.
The last distance of the trip was an epic 37,560 miles (60,440 km). It was also the first expedition that sailed from the Atlantic in the Pacific and the first to cross the Pacific.
10. The trips of Marco Polo1271-1294
alt = “epic journey of discovery cards-6 ″> Maximilian Dörrbecker/Creative Commons
This type wrote the book about the discovery - literally. Almost 750 years ago, a 17-year-old Venetian merchant went on a 24,000 km long journey that lasted over 24 years. The trip led him through the Middle East, Central Asia and China. His subsequent book, The Travels of Marco Polo, contributed to introducing the Europeans at the time to the distant countries of Central Asia and China.
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Would you like to read more about these epic journey of discovery? In collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society, DK has published an outstanding illustrated book with the title of Explorers: Tales of Endurance and Exploration.
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