Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan, (c. 1480-1521). Portuguese explorer. Between 1505 and 1516 he carried out various expeditions to Africa and India for the Portuguese crown. In 1519, with the backing of Spain, he set out on an expedition to discover a route to the Spice Islands (Moluccas) by sailing west. Having crossed the Atlantic, he passed through the straits now named after him to enter the Pacific. Despite severe hardships, one of his five ships reached the East Indies in 1521. Although Magellan himself was killed by hostile islanders, his ship, the Victoria, went on to complete the circum-navigation of the globe under Sebastian del Carlo (1522).
