Which explorer’s expedition was the first to circumnavigate Earth?

Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition was the first to circumnavigate Earth, although Magellan himself did not complete the voyage.

The expedition left Spain in 1519 with five ships seeking a westward route to the Spice Islands. Magellan’s fleet crossed the Atlantic, passed through the strait now bearing his name at the southern tip of South America, and entered the Pacific Ocean. Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521.

Juan Sebastián Elcano then took command of the remaining ship, Victoria. It returned to Spain in 1522 with 18 surviving crew members, completing the first recorded circumnavigation. The voyage demonstrated the enormous scale of the Pacific and provided practical evidence of Earth’s connected oceans.

The expedition is commonly called Magellan’s circumnavigation because he organized and led it, but Elcano was the captain who completed the route. This distinction explains why both names appear in historical accounts.