The great explorers were the celebrities of their day - the romance and danger of their daring expeditions captured the public imagination and the world's headl

First Crossing of America - Alexander Mackenzie "Endowed by nature with an acquisitive mind and an enterprising spirit", Mackenzie, a Scot engaged in the Canadi

Eating Dirt in Venezuela - Alexander von Humboldt Geographer, geologist, naturalist, anthropologist, physician and philosopher, Baron von Humboldt brought to ex

Alarms amongst the Uzbeks - Alexander Burnes Of all the "forbidden" cities (Timbuktu, Mecca, Lhasa, Riyadh and so on) none enjoyed a more fearsome reputation th

Four Years in the Ice - John Ross Disgraced and dishonored for his report of an imaginary mountain range blocking the most likely access to the North West Passa