Which explorer led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe, although he died before it ended?

Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe, although he died before it ended.

Magellan, a Portuguese navigator serving the Spanish Crown, began the voyage in 1519 with a fleet of five ships. He sought a western route to the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia. The expedition crossed the Atlantic, passed through the strait now named for him at the southern tip of South America, and entered the Pacific Ocean.

Magellan named that ocean after encountering calm conditions, but the crossing was extremely difficult and lasted months. Food shortages and disease killed many crew members. In the Philippines, Magellan was killed at the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521, after becoming involved in a local conflict.

Juan Sebastián Elcano then assumed command of the surviving ship, Victoria, and completed the return voyage to Spain in 1522. The expedition therefore achieved the first circumnavigation, but Magellan himself did not travel the entire route. The voyage also demonstrated the immense scale of the Pacific and helped confirm the practical unity of the world’s oceans.