Exploration in History
Explore 72 historical moments related to exploration — from pivotal breakthroughs to world-changing events.
📅 13th Century(1)
📅 15th Century(1)
📅 16th Century(1)
📅 18th Century(1)
📅 20th Century(31)
Mount Rushmore Sculpting Begins
Gutzon Borglum and approximately 400 workers began sculpting Mount Rushmore.
Star Dust crash
The BSAA airliner Star Dust crashed into Mount Tupungato in the Argentine Andes, with its wreckage undiscovered until 1998.
Talyllyn Railway preservation
Trains ran on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since its preservation, making it the world's first railway operated by volunteers.
Mount Everest Conquered
Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepali Sherpa, become the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They achieved this feat on the expedition's final day.
First ascent of Mount Everest
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.
First Woman in Space
Aboard Vostok 6, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963.
Peking Man fossils discovered
Fossils of Peking Man, an early human ancestor, were discovered near Beijing, China.
First all-female team climbs Manaslu
An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in the Himalayas. They became the first women to climb a peak higher than 8,000 metres.
Junko Tabei Reaches Everest Summit
Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
First ascent of Mount Everest's Southwest Face
Dougal Haston and Doug Scott became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest by ascending its Southwest Face.
Johan Ferrier becomes first president of Suriname
Upon Suriname's independence from the Netherlands, Johan Ferrier became its first president. He served in this role from 1975 to 1980.
Uranus ring system discovered
Astronomers using NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory discovered a faint ring system around Uranus.
First Non-US/Soviet Cosmonaut in Space
As a cosmonaut on Soyuz 28, Vladimír Remek became the first person from outside the Soviet Union or the United States to go into space.
Air New Zealand Flight 901 Crash
Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica on November 28, 1979, killing all 257 people on board.
Trans-en-Provence UFO sighting
A local farmer in Trans-en-Provence, France, reported a UFO sighting. This event is claimed to be perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time.
Coppergate Helmet Discovery
On May 12, 1982, the Coppergate Helmet, the best-preserved of the six known Anglo-Saxon helmets, was discovered. The helmet is a significant archaeological find.
Nevado del Ruiz eruption
The volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupted, causing a volcanic mudslide that buried the town of Armero, Colombia, killing approximately 23,000 people.
Gateway Bridge Opens in Brisbane
The Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, opened as the largest prestressed-concrete, single-box bridge in the world.
Lynne Cox swims the Bering Strait
Lynne Cox became the first person to swim between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, crossing the Bering Strait in 2 hours and 5 minutes.
China-Vietnam Naval Skirmish
China defeated Vietnam in a naval altercation near the Spratly Islands. China was attempting to establish oceanographic observation posts in the disputed territory.
Seikan Tunnel opens
The 53.85 km Seikan Tunnel opened, connecting the cities of Hakodate and Aomori in Japan. It was the longest railway tunnel in the world at the time of its opening.
Voyager 2 Confirms Neptune's Rings
On August 25, 1989, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the planet's rings.
Northern Xinjiang railway completion
Construction of the Northern Xinjiang railway was completed between Ürümqi South and Alashankou, linking the railway lines of China and Kazakhstan.
Operation Solomon
The Israel Defense Forces began Operation Solomon, a covert mission to airlift thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Ötzi the Iceman discovered
Ötzi, a natural mummy dating from about 3300 BC, was discovered by two German tourists in the Alps.
Roman hoard discovered in Suffolk
A large hoard of Roman silver and gold, the largest in Britain, was discovered in Suffolk, England, on November 16, 1992. It included the largest collection of 4th- and 5th-century coins found within the former Roman Empire.
US troops deployed to Somalia
U.S. president George H. W. Bush ordered American troops into Somalia to help provide humanitarian aid and restore order. This occurred during the ongoing Somali Civil War.
Atlantis docks with Mir
Atlantis became the first U.S. Space Shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir as part of the Shuttle–Mir program.
Comet Hale–Bopp discovered
Comet Hale–Bopp, one of the most widely observed comets of the 20th century, was independently discovered by astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.
Laura Dekker
Laura Dekker is a Dutch sailor.
Expedition 1 arrives at International Space Station
As members of Expedition 1, American astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko became the first resident crew to arrive at the International Space Station.
📅 21th Century(37)
Violette Dorange
Violette Dorange is a French professional round-the-world sailor.
Fort Tanjong Katong Excavation Begins
Archaeologists and volunteers began excavation of the remains of Fort Tanjong Katong in Singapore.
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument established
US president George W. Bush designated 140,000 square miles around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
MV Senopati Nusantara sinks
The Indonesian ferry MV Senopati Nusantara sank in the Java Sea during a storm, killing at least 400 people.
Comet McNaught Reaches Perihelion
Comet McNaught reached perihelion, becoming the brightest comet in over 40 years. It had an apparent magnitude of −5.5.
South Pole of Inaccessibility Reached
A four-man team using skis and kites reached the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility, the first people to do so since 1967.
Pasha Bulker runs aground
A major storm caused the bulk carrier Pasha Bulker to run aground in New South Wales, Australia.
MS Explorer sinks in the Southern Ocean
MS Explorer became the first cruise ship to sink in the Southern Ocean.
Yves Rossy English Channel Flight
Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy flew across the English Channel using a jet-powered wingpack.
Staffordshire Hoard Discovered
The Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, was discovered near Hammerwich, England.
Taurus 09 Returns
The last vessels involved in Taurus 09, a Royal Navy training deployment covering 20,400 miles, returned to HMNB Devonport, England.
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Eruption Disrupts European Air Travel
Ash plumes from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland caused widespread disruption to air travel across Europe.
Jessica Watson completes circumnavigation
Jessica Watson arrived in Sydney after sailing non-stop and unassisted around the world, three days before her seventeenth birthday.
Abby Sunderland rescue
Sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland was rescued after her boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean while attempting to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe.
Belitung shipwreck artifacts exhibition
Items from the Belitung shipwreck, the largest single collection of Tang-dynasty artefacts found in one location, were first exhibited in Singapore.
New Zealand Hot Air Balloon Crash
A hot air balloon flight from Carterton, New Zealand, collided with a power line while landing, causing it to crash and killing all eleven people on board.
Costa Concordia disaster
The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef and capsized off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany.
Nik Wallenda walks over Niagara Falls
American acrobat Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls.
First Chinese Woman in Space
Liu Yang, a member of the Shenzhou 9 crew, became the first Chinese woman in space on June 16, 2012.
Discovery of Richard III's Skeleton
On August 25, 2012, the skeleton of King Richard III of England was discovered under a car park in Leicester.
Luxor hot air balloon crash
A hot air balloon crashed near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people. This remains the deadliest ballooning disaster in history.
Marmaray Project Phase 1 Opens
The first phase of the Marmaray project opened with an undersea rail tunnel across the Bosphorus strait.
Happisburgh Footprints Discovery
Researchers announced the discovery of the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa.
Norman Atlantic fire
The passenger ferry Norman Atlantic caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, killing an estimated 28 people.
AirAsia Flight 8501 crash
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea after the pilots mishandled a non-critical error in the cockpit, resulting in the deaths of all 162 people on board.
Dongfang zhi Xing capsizes
The river cruise ship Dongfang zhi Xing capsized in the Yangtze, resulting in 442 deaths in China's worst peacetime maritime disaster.
Hassan Sadpara
Hassan Sadpara, Pakistani mountaineer and adventurer, died on November 21, 2016. He was born in 1963.
Azure Window Collapse
The Azure Window, a natural limestone arch in Gozo, Malta, collapsed on March 8, 2017, during a storm.
Bruce McCandless II
US astronaut Bruce McCandless II, who conducted the first untethered spacewalk, died on December 21, 2017. He was born in 1937.
Hayabusa2 arrives at asteroid Ryugu
The Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 arrived at the asteroid Ryugu to collect samples for return to Earth.
New Horizons flies by Arrokoth
The NASA space probe New Horizons flew by the trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth. This made it the farthest object ever visited by a spacecraft.
Rosemary Bryant Mariner
Rosemary Bryant Mariner was a United States Naval Aviator.
Alexei Leonov dies
Alexei Leonov was a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and the first human to conduct a spacewalk.
Titan Submersible Implosion Victims
Notable victims of the Titan submersible implosion died on this date.
Lou Whittaker
Lou Whittaker was an American mountaineer, mountain guide, and businessman.
William Anders
William Anders was an American astronaut and lunar explorer.
Iris Cummings
Iris Cummings was an American swimmer and aviator.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the most important exploration events in history?
- Notable exploration events include: Marco Polo begins journey home (1292), Columbus reaches the Americas (1492), Columbus uses lunar eclipse to influence Jamaican villagers (1504).
- How many exploration events are in the timeline?
- Our collection includes 72 historical entries related to exploration, spanning centuries of human history.
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