Biography of Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese Explorer

Biography of Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese Explorer Ferdinand Magellan (February 3, 1480–April 27, 1521), a Portuguese explorer, set sail in September 1519 with a fleet of five Spanish ships in an attempt to find the Spice Islands by heading west. Although Magellan died during the journey, he is credited with the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Fast Facts: Ferdinand Magellan Known For: Portuguese explorer credited with circumnavigating the EarthAlso Known As: Fernando de MagallanesBorn: February 3, 1480 in Sabrosa,  PortugalParents: Magalhaes and Alda de Mesquita (m. 1517–1521)Died: April 27, 1521 in the Kingdom of  Mactan (now  Lapu-Lapu City,  Philippines)Awards and Honors: The Order of Magellan was established in 1902 to honor those who have circumnavigated the Earth.Spouse: Marà ­a Caldera Beatriz BarbosaChildren: Rodrigo de Magalhes, Carlos de MagalhesNotable Quote: â€Å"The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the church.† Early Years and Voyages Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1480 in Sabrosa, Portugal, to Rui de Magalhaes and Alda de Mesquita. Because his family had ties to the royal family, Magellan became a page to the Portuguese queen after his parents untimely deaths in 1490. This position as a page allowed Magellan the opportunity to become educated and learn about the various Portuguese exploration expeditions- possibly even those conducted by Christopher Columbus. Magellan took part in his first sea voyage in 1505 when Portugal sent him to India to help install Francisco de Almeida as the Portuguese viceroy. He also experienced his first battle there in 1509 when one of the local kings rejected the practice of paying tribute to the new viceroy. From here, however, Magellan lost the viceroy Almeidas support after he took leave without permission and was accused of illegally trading with the Moors. After some of the accusations were proven to be true, Magellan lost all offers of employment from the Portuguese after 1514. The Spanish and the Spice Islands Around this same time, the Spanish were engaged in trying to find a new route to the Spice Islands (the East Indies, in present-day Indonesia) after the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the world in half in 1494. The dividing line for this treaty went through the Atlantic Ocean and Spain got the lands west of the line, including the Americas. Brazil, however, went to Portugal as did everything east of the line, including India and the eastern half of Africa. Similar to his predecessor Columbus, Magellan believed that the Spice Islands could be reached by sailing west through the New World. He proposed this idea to Manuel I, the Portuguese king, but was rejected. Looking for support, Magellan moved on to share his plan with the Spanish king. On March 22, 1518, Charles I was persuaded by Magellan and granted him a large sum of money to find a route to the Spice Islands by sailing west, thereby giving Spain control of the area, since it would in effect be west of the dividing line through the Atlantic. Using these generous funds, Magellan set sail going west toward the Spice Islands in September 1519 with five ships (the Conception, the San Antonio, the Santiago, the Trinidad, and the Victoria) and 270 men. The Early Portion of the Voyage Since Magellan was a Portuguese explorer in charge of a Spanish fleet, the early part of the voyage to the west was riddled with problems. Several of the Spanish captains on the ships in the expedition plotted to kill him, but none of their plans succeeded. Many of these mutineers were held prisoner and/or executed. In addition, Magellan had to avoid Portuguese territory since he was sailing for Spain. After months of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, the fleet anchored at what is today Rio de Janeiro to restock its supplies on December 13, 1519. From there, they moved down the coast of South America looking for a way into the Pacific. As they sailed farther south, however, the weather got worse, so the crew anchored in Patagonia (southern South America) to wait out the winter. As the weather began to ease in the spring, Magellan sent the Santiago on a mission to look for a way through to the Pacific Ocean. In May, the ship was wrecked and the fleet did not move again until August 1520. Then, after months of exploring the area, the remaining four ships found a strait in October and sailed through it. This portion of the journey took 38 days, cost them the San Antonio (because its crew decided to abandon the expedition) and a large amount of supplies. Nevertheless, at the end of November, the remaining three ships exited what Magellan named the Strait of All Saints and sailed into the Pacific Ocean. Later Voyage and Death From here, Magellan mistakenly thought it would only take a few days to reach the Spice Islands, when it instead took four months, during which time his crew suffered immensely. They began to starve as their food supplies were depleted, their water turned putrid, and many of the men developed scurvy. The crew was able to stop at a nearby island in January 1521 to eat fish and seabirds, but their supplies were not adequately restocked until March when they stopped in Guam. On March 28, they landed in the Philippines and befriended a tribal king, Rajah Humabon of Cebu Island. After spending time with the king, Magellan and his crew were persuaded into helping the tribe kill their enemy Lapu-Lapu on Mactan Island. On April 27, 1521, Magellan took part in the Battle of Mactan and was killed by Lapu-Lapus army. After Magellans death, Sebastian del Cano had the Conception burned (so it could not be used against them by the locals) and took over the two remaining ships and 117 crewmembers. To ensure that one ship would make it back to Spain, the Trinidad headed east while the Victoria continued west. The Trinidad was seized by the Portuguese on its return journey, but on September 6, 1522, the Victoria and only 18 surviving crew members returned to Spain, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Legacy Though Magellan died before the voyage was completed, he is often credited with the first circumnavigation of the Earth as he initially led the voyage. He also discovered what is now called the Strait of Magellan and named both the Pacific Ocean and South Americas Tierra del Fuego. Magellanic Clouds in space were also named for him, as his crew was the first to view them while sailing in the Southern Hemisphere. Most important to geography though, was Magellan’s realization of the full extent of the Earth- something that significantly aided to the development of later geographic exploration and the resulting knowledge of the world today. Sources Editors, History.com. â€Å"Ferdinand Magellan.†Ã‚  History.com, AE Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009.â€Å"The Ages of Exploration.†Ã‚  Exploration.marinersmuseum.org.Burgan, Michael.  Magellan: Ferdinand Magellan and the First Trip Around the World. Mankato: Capstone Publishers, 2001.

Pteranodon Facts and Figures

Pteranodon Facts and Figures Despite what many people think, there wasnt a single species of pterosaur called a pterodactyl. The pterodactyloids were actually a large suborder of avian reptiles that included such creatures as Pteranodon, Pterodactylus and the truly enormous Quetzalcoatlus, the largest winged animal in earths history; pterodactyloids were anatomically different from the earlier, smaller rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs that dominated the Jurassic period. Wingspan of Close to 20 Feet Still, if theres one specific pterosaur that folks have in mind when they say pterodactyl, its Pteranodon. This large, late Cretaceous pterosaur attained wingspans of close to 20 feet, though its wings were made of skin rather than feathers; its other vaguely birdlike characteristics included (possibly) webbed feet and a toothless beak. Weirdly, the prominent, foot-long crest of Pteranodon males was actually part of its skulland may have functioned as a combination rudder and mating display. Pteranodon was only distantly related to prehistoric birds, which evolved not from pterosaurs but from small, feathered dinosaurs. Primarily a Glider Paleontologists arent certain exactly how, or how often, Pteranodon moved through the air. Most researchers believe this pterosaur was primarily a glider, though its not inconceivable that it actively flapped its wings every now and then, and the prominent crest on top of its head may (or may not) have helped stabilize it during flight. Theres also the distant possibility that Pteranodon took to the air only rarely, instead of spending most of its time stalking the ground on two feet, like the contemporary raptors and tyrannosaurs of its late Cretaceous North American habitat. Males Were Much Bigger Than Females There is only one valid species of Pteranodon, P. longiceps, the males of which were much bigger than the females (this sexual dimorphism may help to account for some of the early confusion about the number of Pteranodon species). We can tell that the smaller specimens are female because of their wide pelvic canals, a clear adaption for laying eggs, while the males had much bigger and more prominent crests, as well as larger wingspans of 18 feet (compared to about 12 feet for females). The Bone Wars Amusingly, Pteranodon figured prominently in the Bone Wars, the late 19th-century feud between the eminent American paleontologists Othniel C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. Marsh had the honor of excavating the first undisputed Pteranodon fossil, in Kansas in 1870, but Cope followed soon afterward with discoveries in the same locality. The problem is, Marsh initially classified his Pteranodon specimen as a species of Pterodactylus, while Cope erected the new genus Ornithochirus, accidentally leaving out an all-important e (clearly, he had meant to lump his finds in with the already-named Ornithocheirus). By the time the dust had (literally) settled, Marsh emerged as the winner, and when he corrected his error vis-a-vis Pterodactylus, his new name Pteranodon was the one that stuck in the official pterosaur record books. Name: Pteranodon (Greek for toothless wing); pronounced teh-RAN-oh-don; often called the pterodactylHabitat: Shores of North AmericaHistorical Period: Late Cretaceous (85-75 million years ago)Size and Weight: Wingspan of 18 feet and 20-30 poundsDiet: FishDistinguishing Characteristics: Large wingspan; prominent crest on males; lack of teeth