Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain

  • Fame86.1
  • Momentum4.9
  • Global rank#181
Source-basedStable
  • Fame86.1
  • Momentum4.9
  • Global rank#181
  • Portugal rank#2
  • Historical Figures rank#6
  • Wikipedia148.9K
Lived 1480–1521, aged 41Portugal
  • Wikipedia
    181 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Global rank
    #181
    Fame.am leaderboard
  • Era
    1480–1521
    Aged 41
  • Awards
    3
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-08-13

He died halfway through, killed by a poison arrow on a Philippine beach in 1521. But the route he plotted became the first expedition to circle the entire planet — proving the world was one unbroken ocean if you had the will to sail it.

Biography

About

Born around 1480 into minor Portuguese nobility, Magellan became a skilled naval officer in Portugal's Asian fleet but couldn't sell King Manuel I on a western route to the Spice Islands. Spain's Charles I said yes. In 1518 Magellan was named admiral of a five-ship Armada, married in Seville, and sailed southwest from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 1519. Storms and mutinies plagued the voyage down South America's coast, but the fleet found the strait that now bears his name, passed into the Pacific — which Magellan himself named — and reached the Philippines after a brutal crossing. On 27 April 1521…

Deep cuts

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By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
86.1
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum4.9
Historical29.4
Now attention29.4
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence