John Cabot was an Italian explorer who sailed under the English flag. He reached North America in 1497, becoming the first European to do so since the Vikings.

Francis Drake was an English explorer, navigator, and privateer. He is best known for his circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580, during which he became the first Englishman to sail around the globe.

John Smith was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He is best known for his role in the founding of the colony of Jamestown in Virginia in 1607.

John Franklin was an English explorer and naval officer. He is best known for his attempts to find the Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic.

David Livingstone was a Scottish explorer and missionary. He is best known for his explorations of Africa, including his discovery of the source of the Nile River in 1866.

Robert Falcon Scott was an English naval officer and explorer. He is best known for his expeditions to Antarctica, including his ill-fated attempt to reach the South Pole in 1912.

Heinrich Schliemann was a German archaeologist who is best known for his excavations of the ancient city of Troy in Turkey.

Hiram Bingham was an American explorer and historian. He is best known for his discovery of the ruins of the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru in 1911.

Plato was a Greek philosopher who is credited with first describing the lost city of Atlantis in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias.

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer who is credited with discovering the Fountain of Youth in Florida in 1513.

William Baffin was an English explorer and navigator who is credited with discovering the Northwest Passage in 1616.

John Hanning Speke was an English explorer and officer in the British Army. He is best known for his discovery of the source of the Nile River in 1863.

Robert Koldewey was a German archaeologist who is credited with discovering the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq in 1899.

Giuseppe Fiorelli was an Italian archaeologist who is credited with discovering the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy in 1860.