Famous Explorers Quiz

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What’s in the Famous Explorers Quiz?

This quiz delves into the fascinating world of exploration with questions covering:

  • Maritime pioneers who mapped our oceans
  • Polar expeditions and their remarkable achievements
  • Ancient explorers who connected civilisations
  • Landmark discoveries which changed history

From the frozen wastes of Antarctica to the steamy jungles of South America, these intrepid explorers charted our world and expanded human knowledge. Did you know that Zheng He’s treasure ships were supposedly five times larger than Columbus’s Santa Maria? Or that Vitus Bering died on an uninhabited island that would later bear his name? These questions will take you on a journey through time, from the ancient Phoenicians who circumnavigated Africa to modern explorers who reached the ocean’s deepest points. 

Famous Explorers Quiz

Fun fact: When Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, he left a letter for his rival Robert Scott, who arrived 34 days later. Talk about leaving your mark! Peek behind the scenes of this quiz by clicking Preview Quiz Content below – you might discover which explorer got lost looking for India and found America instead!

If you find yourself interested in polar exploration, we recommend the following books which are all fascinating tales:

  • Shackleton: Explorer. Leader. Legend (Ranulph Fiennes)
  • Empire of Ice and Stone (Buddy Levy)
  • Madhouse at the end of the Earth (Julian Sancton)

Another few books we found to be compelling about misadventures at sea were The Wager (David Grann), In the Heart of the Sea (Nathaniel Philbrick) and something completely different, one man’s solo Atlantic crossing gone wrong – Adrift (Steven Callahan).

Preview Quiz Content

This section contains all of the questions that could be a part of this quiz. The quiz will choose 15 random questions from the pool below. If you've found this section feel free to take a look but to start the quiz you should press "Start Quiz". You may also be thinking that some information is missing for some of the below questions and you'd be right! The answers listed below only contain answers that appear in the quiz, so as a hypothetical example, if a question asks about which explorer accidentally discovered their cat had stowed away on their ship and sailed around the world, and 4 options are given in the question, only the correct answer will appear in the below information. This is because this supplemental information is about the quiz itself and not intended as a comprehensive list. We hope you found the quiz to be entertaining and informative. If you haven't taken it yet, Good Luck!

Q1: Which explorer was the first European to reach India by sea?

A1: Vasco da Gama

Q2: Select all the explorers who were sponsored by the Spanish Crown:

A2: Ferdinand Magellan, Hernán Cortés

Q3: Which continent did James Cook claim for Britain in 1770?

A3: Australia

Q4: Arrange these explorations in chronological order:

A4: Marco Polo's journey to China, Columbus reaches the Americas, Magellan's circumnavigation begins

Q5: Which explorer was the first to circumnavigate Australia?

A5: Matthew Flinders

Q6: Which famous explorer wrote 'The Travels' about his journeys through Asia?

A6: Marco Polo

Q7: Which explorer discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513?

A7: Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Q8: Which explorer led the first expedition to reach the North Pole in 1926?

A8: Roald Amundsen

Q9: Which Chinese explorer commanded the largest naval fleet of the medieval world?

A9: Zheng He

Q10: Which explorer first mapped the Mississippi River?

A10: Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet

Q11: Which Portuguese explorer was the first to round the Cape of Good Hope?

A11: Bartolomeu Dias

Q12: Which explorer discovered New Zealand in 1642?

A12: Abel Tasman

Q13: Which explorer led the first European expedition across North America to the Pacific coast?

A13: Alexander Mackenzie

Q14: Which explorer led the first documented European expedition to Brazil?

A14: Pedro Álvares Cabral

Q15: Which Viking explorer established the first European settlement in Greenland?

A15: Erik the Red

Q16: Which explorer is credited with discovering the Hawaiian Islands?

A16: James Cook

Q17: Which explorer was the first to reach the Mariana Trench?

A17: Jacques Piccard

Q18: Which Russian explorer led the first European expedition to reach Alaska?

A18: Vitus Bering