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Six Explorers: Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook, Captain Sturt, Dr. Livingstone, Captain Scott
Short biographies of the six explorers: Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook, Captain Sturt, Dr. Livingstone, Captain Scott.
62 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1942
5 people want to read
About the author
John Walton
137 books3 followersJohn Walton is an award-winning journalist who specializes in transport, aviation, airlines, and the passenger experience. John grew up on three continents and likes to joke that he was raised by cabin crew! His lifelong interest in aviation was sparked during a life of shuttling around the world on Boeing 747-100 and -200 aircraft, and he remembers with fondness the days when bored pilots and cabin crew didn’t mind an inquisitive teenager hanging around in cockpits and galleys asking questions.
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July 14, 2015
John Walton has produced a super little book covering the life and times of six great explorers, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook, Captain Sturt, Dr. Livingstone and Captain Scott. The six cover different periods of time and different places so the book is an interesting and varied read.
To read of Marco Polo's exploits is certainly enlightening as he did not meet his father until 1269 when he was 14 years of age as Papa and Marco's uncle had been away on expeditions for that length of time. On his return Papa only remained in Venice for two years because he had to wait for a new Pope to be elected before they set off again. And when they did they took young Marco with them.
They had wonderful journeys in the land of Kublai Khan in whose service they also travelled to parts of the world never previously visited by Europeans. This time they were away for an incredible 17 years.
On his return Marco related his tales of adventure and fortunately they were recorded by a fellow prisoner when Marco was imprisoned in Genoa and when he died in 1324 traders and merchants were thronging the roads to China.
Columbus, born in Genoa, went to live in Portugal, a country whose great aim was to find a sea route to India. In Columbus they had found just the man to do the job and he formed the idea of reaching India by sailing towards the west - across the Atlantic Ocean.
It took him years to find someone to help him carry out his plan by which time he had moved to Spain from where 88 men set sail aboard the 'Santa Maria', the 'Pinta' and the 'Nina' on 3 August 1492. He annexed land and islands in the name of the King of Spain and when he returned he was royally received by Ferdinand and Isabella in Barcelona.
On 4 September 1493 Columbus set out on a second voyage across the Atlantic, this time in three great galleons and 14 light frigates. Once again he claimed lands in the name of the King and Queen of Spain who bestowed honours and land on him as a reward for his discoveries.
He set sail for a third time on 30 May 1498 and on this voyage he discovered the island of Trinidad and sighted the south coast of South America. But quarrels broke out and Columbus was escorted home in chains, only to be restored to favour by the King and Queen. He died without realising that he had discovered a new continent; a discovery later made by Amerigo Vespucci in the years 1497-1503.
Captain Cook is renown as the Yorkshire man to visit Australia without winning a Test match (only joking) but he began by assisting General Wolfe at Quebec. He worked his way up the ranks and in 1768 he was chosen by the Government for the great work which would keep him busy for the remainder of his life.
He sailed in the 'Endeavour' in August 1768 and explored the Southern Pacific Ocean and charted more of New Zealand and Australia than any man before him. Returning home he was soon sent out on another voyage of discovery in 1772 and it was after this successful voyage that Cook was made a Captain in the Royal Navy.
His third and final voyage began in July 1776 but it was on this voyage that he was killed while on the island of Hawaii.
Captain Sturt was born in Bengal in 1795 and was educated at Harrow but in 1827 he was sent in command of a detachment of his regiment to Sydney, Australia, where he was appointed military secretary to Governor Darling of New South Wales. From there he spent years exploring the hinterland of Australia and suffered many hardships, so much so that when he returned to England he was quite blind. However, his work on mapping the chief river systems of Australia and opening up South Australia was invaluable.
Scotsman Dr Livingstone is probably best know for being found by Stanley but that was long after his exploratory work in South Africa had been carried out. In 1849 he set out to explore the inhospitable country of Central Africa. He was the first white man to set eyes on Lake Ngami and he discovered the Zambesi in the heart of Africa where no other European had been.
At Linyanti he found himself faced with an evil that he was to fight for the rest of his life, the slave trade and he set out for the west coast of Africa in November 1853. In April 1854 he reached the Portuguese settlements on the west coast and his journey was over.
He returned to England where he was lauded all over the land after 16 years living and travelling in the unknown interior of Africa. But the lure of Africa and a government grant of £5000 for an expedition to explore the Zambesi took him back to Africa in March 1858. And his travels began again.
He was taken ill and was nearly dying at Ujiji when Henry Morton Stanley arrived just in time to save his life. The pair remained together for four months and together they explored the northern part of Lake Tanganyika and proved that the lake could not be the source of the Nile. Eventually Livingstone refused to return home with Stanley and in May 1873 his porters found him dead in his tent.
Captain Scott was the great Antarctic explorer who set out for the South Pole in the 'Discovery' on 31 July 1901. Once arrived at McMurdo Sound the party spent the long Antarctic winter preparing for their journey to the Pole. Scott, Shackleton and Wilson started on a journey to the south in November 1902 but due to illness they eventually turned back after travelling almost 1000 miles in 93 days.
Having returned to England he set out on his second voyage to the south on 15 June 1910 with the ambition to reach the South Pole before a rival, Amundsen. News that the latter was well on his way reached Scott when he was in McMurdo Sound once again and on 1 November 1911 he and his party set out for the South Pole.
A relay system was introduced, which worked quite well but eventually the party of five was reduced to four when Petty Officer Edgar Evans died. And exhaustion gradually overcame the other four; Oates 'went outside' and some months after they had given up hope, a relief party found the bodies of the other three.
It is an admirable book for the armchair explorer, which, having read these tales, I will always be!
To read of Marco Polo's exploits is certainly enlightening as he did not meet his father until 1269 when he was 14 years of age as Papa and Marco's uncle had been away on expeditions for that length of time. On his return Papa only remained in Venice for two years because he had to wait for a new Pope to be elected before they set off again. And when they did they took young Marco with them.
They had wonderful journeys in the land of Kublai Khan in whose service they also travelled to parts of the world never previously visited by Europeans. This time they were away for an incredible 17 years.
On his return Marco related his tales of adventure and fortunately they were recorded by a fellow prisoner when Marco was imprisoned in Genoa and when he died in 1324 traders and merchants were thronging the roads to China.
Columbus, born in Genoa, went to live in Portugal, a country whose great aim was to find a sea route to India. In Columbus they had found just the man to do the job and he formed the idea of reaching India by sailing towards the west - across the Atlantic Ocean.
It took him years to find someone to help him carry out his plan by which time he had moved to Spain from where 88 men set sail aboard the 'Santa Maria', the 'Pinta' and the 'Nina' on 3 August 1492. He annexed land and islands in the name of the King of Spain and when he returned he was royally received by Ferdinand and Isabella in Barcelona.
On 4 September 1493 Columbus set out on a second voyage across the Atlantic, this time in three great galleons and 14 light frigates. Once again he claimed lands in the name of the King and Queen of Spain who bestowed honours and land on him as a reward for his discoveries.
He set sail for a third time on 30 May 1498 and on this voyage he discovered the island of Trinidad and sighted the south coast of South America. But quarrels broke out and Columbus was escorted home in chains, only to be restored to favour by the King and Queen. He died without realising that he had discovered a new continent; a discovery later made by Amerigo Vespucci in the years 1497-1503.
Captain Cook is renown as the Yorkshire man to visit Australia without winning a Test match (only joking) but he began by assisting General Wolfe at Quebec. He worked his way up the ranks and in 1768 he was chosen by the Government for the great work which would keep him busy for the remainder of his life.
He sailed in the 'Endeavour' in August 1768 and explored the Southern Pacific Ocean and charted more of New Zealand and Australia than any man before him. Returning home he was soon sent out on another voyage of discovery in 1772 and it was after this successful voyage that Cook was made a Captain in the Royal Navy.
His third and final voyage began in July 1776 but it was on this voyage that he was killed while on the island of Hawaii.
Captain Sturt was born in Bengal in 1795 and was educated at Harrow but in 1827 he was sent in command of a detachment of his regiment to Sydney, Australia, where he was appointed military secretary to Governor Darling of New South Wales. From there he spent years exploring the hinterland of Australia and suffered many hardships, so much so that when he returned to England he was quite blind. However, his work on mapping the chief river systems of Australia and opening up South Australia was invaluable.
Scotsman Dr Livingstone is probably best know for being found by Stanley but that was long after his exploratory work in South Africa had been carried out. In 1849 he set out to explore the inhospitable country of Central Africa. He was the first white man to set eyes on Lake Ngami and he discovered the Zambesi in the heart of Africa where no other European had been.
At Linyanti he found himself faced with an evil that he was to fight for the rest of his life, the slave trade and he set out for the west coast of Africa in November 1853. In April 1854 he reached the Portuguese settlements on the west coast and his journey was over.
He returned to England where he was lauded all over the land after 16 years living and travelling in the unknown interior of Africa. But the lure of Africa and a government grant of £5000 for an expedition to explore the Zambesi took him back to Africa in March 1858. And his travels began again.
He was taken ill and was nearly dying at Ujiji when Henry Morton Stanley arrived just in time to save his life. The pair remained together for four months and together they explored the northern part of Lake Tanganyika and proved that the lake could not be the source of the Nile. Eventually Livingstone refused to return home with Stanley and in May 1873 his porters found him dead in his tent.
Captain Scott was the great Antarctic explorer who set out for the South Pole in the 'Discovery' on 31 July 1901. Once arrived at McMurdo Sound the party spent the long Antarctic winter preparing for their journey to the Pole. Scott, Shackleton and Wilson started on a journey to the south in November 1902 but due to illness they eventually turned back after travelling almost 1000 miles in 93 days.
Having returned to England he set out on his second voyage to the south on 15 June 1910 with the ambition to reach the South Pole before a rival, Amundsen. News that the latter was well on his way reached Scott when he was in McMurdo Sound once again and on 1 November 1911 he and his party set out for the South Pole.
A relay system was introduced, which worked quite well but eventually the party of five was reduced to four when Petty Officer Edgar Evans died. And exhaustion gradually overcame the other four; Oates 'went outside' and some months after they had given up hope, a relief party found the bodies of the other three.
It is an admirable book for the armchair explorer, which, having read these tales, I will always be!
Displaying 1 of 1 review