Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522. His voyage resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, proving that the world was round and much larger than previously estimated. Despite Magellan dying in the Philippines, his crew completed the journey, opening the Pacific Ocean to European trade and fundamentally changing the global map. His legacy is the unification of the world's oceans into a single, navigable system, marking the true beginning of the age of global exploration.