Who discovered the Straits of Magellan?

Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Strait of Magellan for Europeans in 1520. His expedition became the first European-led voyage to navigate the passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the southern end of South America.

Magellan was a Portuguese navigator sailing for Spain in an effort to reach the Spice Islands by heading west. His fleet entered the strait on November 1, 1520, which led him to call it the Strait of All Saints. The passage was later renamed in his honor. Although Magellan led the expedition, he was killed in the Philippines before the voyage was completed; Juan Sebastián Elcano commanded the surviving ship that returned to Spain and completed the first circumnavigation of Earth.

The wording “discovered” refers to European exploration, not the first human knowledge of the region. Indigenous peoples had lived around Tierra del Fuego and the mainland for thousands of years. Magellan also did not personally complete the circumnavigation, a common misconception. The strait became an important alternative to the dangerous route around Cape Horn, especially before the Panama Canal opened in 1914.