Bartolomeu Dias

Portuguese Explorer Bartolomeu Dias

Profession: Portuguese Explorer

Nationality:
Portugal
Portuguese

Why Famous: Regarded as one of the greatest Portuguese explorers Dias was of noble birth and part of the Portuguese royal Household.

In around 1487 Dias was charged to led a Portuguese expedition to find the extent of the African continent and a possible trade route to India. Diaz's expedition consisted of three ships which rounded the Cape of Good Hope without actually seeing it. It was only on his way back that the expedition sighted the cape which Diaz named Cape of Storms. It was later renamed the Cape of Good Hope.

Dias was himself to drown in a storm near the Cape of Good Hope in 1500.

Died: May 29, 1500
Cause of Death: Drowning

Historical Events in the Life of Bartolomeu Dias

  • 1488-02-03 Bartolomeu Dias discovers Mosselbaai (Angra dos Vaqueros)
  • 1488-12-15 Bartolomeu Dias returns to Portugal after becoming 1st known European to sail round the Cape of Good Hope

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