Who was Ferdinand Magellan and what did he do?
Ferdinand Magellan was born circa 1480 at Sabrosa, near Chaves, in the province of Tras-os-Montes, one of the wildest districts of Portugal. However, he obtained Spanish nationality in order to serve the Spanish Crown, so that he could try to find a westward route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. He thereby became the first person to lead an expedition across the Pacific Ocean. This was also the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. Although he did not complete the entire voyage A number of geographic features and biological species have been named for Magellan, including the eponymous Magellanic Penguin, he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines, …and yes he was clever…
