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Pierre Esprit Radisson (France, 1636-1710)

1651: Captured by Iroquois. Escapes and lives as an interpreter in Fort Orange (present-day Albany) for some time.

1659-60: With Grosseilliers, makes a fur trading voyage to the north of Lake Superior, and hears that the area between Lake Superior and Hudson Bay was rich in beaver. Possibly reaches the upper Mississippi.

1661-3: With Grosseilliers, makes another fur trading expedition to the Lake Superior region and reaches James Bay.

1666: Having been fined for unlicensed fur trading, switches loyalty to England.

1668: Sets out on an English fur trading expedition to Hudson Bay, but is forced back by a storm near Ireland.

1674: Switches loyalty back to France, and later back to England.

The Virtual Museum of New-France: Pierre-Esprit Radisson. The Stateless Adventurer

Historic HBC: Pierre-Esprit Radisson adn Médard Chouart, Sieur des Grosseilliers

L2ed.com: Pierre Radisson and Médard Chouart Sieur des Groseilliers (French version)

The Hudson's Bay Company

John Rae (Scotland, 1813-1893)

1846: Maps the coast from Melville Peninsula to Boothia.

1847-9: Explores the coast between the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, looking for Franklin.

1851: Looking for Franklin, explores the south coast of Victoria Island and Victoria Strait.

1853-4: Travels through Boothia Peninsula and hears of the fate of Franklin's expedition.

Made various more explorations in the Canadian Arctic.

Canadian Arctic Profiles: John Rae

Sir Walter Raleigh (also known as Walter Ralegh, England, 1552?-1618)

1584: Sends out Amadas and Barlowe to explore the coast of North America for a suitable place for a colony.

1585: Sends out a colonizing expedition to Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

1587: Sends out a second colonizing expedition to Roanoke.

1595: Explores the Orinoco to look for El Dorado.

1616: Explores the Orinoco searching for El Dorado a second time.

Jim Batten: Sir Walter Raleigh, of Hayes Barton, Woodbury Common

John D. Neville: Sir Walter Raleigh

Lebame Houston and Wynne Dough: Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe

Kid Info: The Colony of Roanoke (links)

Raleigh National Historic Site: Roanoke Revisited

North Carolina Historical Sites: First English Settlement in the New World

John D. Neville: The First English Colony

John D. Neville, Lebame Houston and Wynne Dough: John White

John D. Neville: The John White Colony

Ralph Lane: The Colony At Roanoke

Thomas Hariot: A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia (eyewitness account of the first Virginia colony)

Melanie Nixon: The Lost Colony at Roanoke

Webwright Research: North Carolina's "Lost" Colonists 1587 (with further links)

John D. Neville: Search for the lost colony

Eric Hause: Roanoke Island: The Lost Colony

The Great Unknown: Sir Walter Raleigh

Walter Raleigh: The Discovery of Guiana (Raleigh's own account of his first South American expedition) (same text, different site)

Hari Ram (India)

1871-2: Circumnavigates Mount Everest, without ever seeing it.

The Pundits

Diego Ramón (Spain, 1641-1724)

1707: Explores the area north of the Rio Grande and fights the Indians of the Region.

Handbook of Texas Online: Ramón, Diego

Handbook of Texas Online: Ramón Expedition

Domingo Ramón (Spain, ?-1723)

1716-9: Leads an expedition trying to reconquer Eastern Texas for the Spanish.

Handbook of Texas Online: Ramón, Domingo

António Rapôso Tavares (Portugal, 1598?-1658)

1627: On a slave-catching expedition from São Paulo, raids mission villages in Uruguay and the Guaira region.

1636-8: Reaches the Taquari River, Mato Grosso.

1648-52: On a large slave-raiding and exploring expedition, reaches Bolivia, Ecuador and the Rio Negro, and possibly the Pacific.

Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (Denmark, 1879-1933)

1910: Establishes the Thule trading station in northwestern Greenland.

1912: Crosses northern Greenland and makes discoveries in the Denmark Fjord region.

1917: Explores the northern coast of Greenland.

1920: Undertakes etnographic research among the Inuit of Angmagssalik.

1921-4: Leader of a major scientific expedition into Inuit culture. Travels from Danish Island, Greenland to Kotzebue, Alaska, studying Inuit people.

Nationalmuseet: Knud Rasmussen. (1879-1933) (in Danish)

Bogens Verden: Knud Rasmussen og Thule pâ EDB (in Danish)

qimusseq.gl: Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933)

Johannes Rebmann (Germany, 1820-1876)

1846: With Krapf, establishes a mission post in Eastern Africa.

1848: First European to see the Kilimanjaro.

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon: Rebmann, Johannes (in German)

Cornelis Reijersen (Netherlands)

1622: Attacks Macao, but is beaten back. Builds a fort on the Pescadores, near the coast of Fujian.

Ray Howgego and Andre Engels: The Dutch on Formosa

Jean Ribault (also known as Jean Ribaut, France, 1520-1565)

1562-3: Establishes the Huguenot colony of Charlesfort in what is now South Carolina.

1565: Killed during an attempt to save Charlesfort from a Spanish attack.

Chester B. DePratter: Charlesfort

Our Country: Who is Jean Ribault?

Florida History Internet Center: Florida of the French. A short interlude

Matteo Ricci (also known as Li Ma-teu, Italy, 1552-1610)

1583: Settles as a Jesuit missionary in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China.

1595: Failed attempt to visit Beijing.

1601: Moves to Beijing to the court of emperor Wan-li.

Draws a famous world map, using both western and Chinese sources.

Joseph MacDonnell: Matteo Ricci, S.J. and his contribution to science in China

Catholic Encyclopedia: Matteo Ricci

J.J. O'Connor & E.F. Robertson: Matteo Ricci

Gesuiti in Italia: Matteo Ricci (in Italian)

The Illuminated Lantern: Christianity in China 1: Matteo Ricci and the Jesuits

Galileo Project: Ricci, Matteo (factfile)

Matteo Ricci: On Chinese Government, The Art of Printing (extracts from his journals)

John Richardson (England)

1819-1822: With Back and Franklin, explores the Canadian Arctic coast from the mouth of the Coppermine to Bathurst Inlet. - timeline

1825-1827: With Back and Franklin, follows the Canadian coast from the mouth of the Mackenzie to Cape Beechey. - timeline

John Franklin

Ferdinand Paul Wilhem, Freiherr von Richthofen (Germany, 1833-1905)

1867-72: Undertakes seven expeditions exploring China.

Lothar Zögner: Ferdinand von Richthofen - Neue Sicht auf ein altes Land (in German)

Jan Cornelius de Rijp (Netherlands)

1596: With Barentsz and van Heemskerck, discovers Beren Island and Svalbard. Makes a second attempt to sail between Greenland and Svalbard.

Willem Barentsz

Martín de Rivas (Spain, ?-1690)

1686, 1688: Makes two voyages along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, looking for a supposed French colony.

Handbook of Texas Online: Martín de Rivas

Handbook of Texas Online: Rivas-Iriarte expedition

Juan Maria de Rivera (Spain)

1761: Travels northwest from Taos into present-day Colorado. Crosses the San Juan mountains and reaches the environments of present-day Durango.

?: Leads a group of soldiers, traders and missionaries from Taos to Durango.

1765: Reaches the area around the Gunnison River, Colorado.

Jean-François de la Rocque, Sieur de Roberval (France, 1500-1560)

1542-3: Tries to colonize Canada. Builds a fortress near present-day Quebec and searches for the mythical country of Saguenay.

Jacques Cartier

Agustín Rodríguez (Spain, ?-1582)

1581-2: Leads an expedition into New Mexico. Killed by Indians.

Handbook of Texas Online: Rodríguez, Agustín

Handbook of Texas Online: Rodríguez-Sánchez Expedition

Jacob Roggeveen (Netherlands, 1659-1729)

1721-2: Travels to the Pacific to look for Terra Australis. Discovers Easter Island and Samoa.

Hermann Mückler: Roggeveen, Jacob (in German)

Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs (Germany, 1831-1896)

1862-7: Crosses the Atlas mountains and travels through the northern Sahara. Crosses the Sahara from Tripoli to Lake Chad and the Golf of Guinea.

1869, 1874, 1878-9: Makes two voyages through the Libyan desert. On his last voyage he reaches the oases of Kufra.

Bayern2Radio: Durch Wüsten und Bergländer: Gerhard Rohlfs (in German)

Vegesack Online: Gerhard-Rohlfs-Zimmer (in German)

Gerhard Rohlfs: Quer durch Afrika (in German)

Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondón (Brazil, 1865-1958)

1906-9: Explores the Mato Grosso. Discovers the Rio da Dúvida.

1913: With Roosevelt, explores the Rio da Dúvida (now Rio Roosevelt).

Fernando Correia da Silva: Cândido Rondon: Explorador, geógrafo, pacificador (in Portuguese)

The Great Unknown: Candido Rondon. A Friend of the Indians

Theodore Roosevelt (USA, 1858-1919)

1901-9: President of the USA

1913-4: With Rondon, maps the River of Doubt (now Rio Roosevelt).

Mary Beth Smith: The Joy of Life - a biography of Theodore Roosevelt

The Great Unknown: Theodore Roosevelt, The Restless Hunter

Theodore Roosevelt: Through the Brazilian Wilderness

James Clark Ross (UK, 1800-1862)

1818-37: Member of various Arctic expeditions under his uncle John Ross and Edward Parry.

1829-33: During an expedition of John Ross, makes various sledge journeys in the Canadian Arctic and reaches the North Magnetic Pole.

1839-43: Leads an expedition to Antarctica. Discovers Victoria Land and the Ross Ice Barrier.

1848: Leads an expedition searching for Franklin.

Antarctic Philately: James Clark Ross

SPASEMAN: 1841 Ross Island Discovered

Robert Holmes: Discovered in 1841 (the discovery of Ross Island)

Bernie Chung: James Clark Ross

John Ross (UK, 1777-1856)

1818-9: Explores Baffin Bay.

1829-33: Searching for the Northwest Passage, explores Boothia Peninsula, King William Island and the Gulf of Boothia. His nephew James Clark Ross reaches the North Magnetic Pole.

1850: Leads an expedition to search for Franklin.

The Wayfarer's Bookshop: Explorer Biographies: Sir John Ross

Sir John Ross: Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a north-west passage and of a residence in the Arctic Regions, during the Years 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, and 1833

National Library of Canada: Ross (1818-1819)

Sir John Ross: Letter to Geroge Elliot, 1833

Find a Grave: Sir John Ross

Ru (Polynesia)

According to Tahitian tradition, explores the world with his sister Huna

William of Rubruck (also known as Willem van Ruysbroeck, Wilhelmus Rubruquis, Flanders, dates unknown)

1253-5: Visits the Mongolian leader Möngke Khan in Karakorum.

Exploration in the Medieval Period