Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe (1519-1522), though he died in the Philippines before completing it. His voyage proved definitively that the Earth was spherical, that the Americas and Asia were separate landmasses, and that the Pacific Ocean was far larger than anyone had imagined — requiring 98 days to cross. Of 237 men who set out, only 18 returned.