Exquisita & magno aliquot mensium periculo lustrata et iam retecta Freti Magellanici facies

Today in History: Straits of Magellan

Today in History–November 28–the Library of Congress features the Straits of Magellan. On this day in 1520, three ships under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed into the “Sea of the South”. The fleet reached the island of Guam just four months later thanks to a remarkably smooth voyage that led the explorers to…

The first sight of the new world - Columbus discovering America

Today in History: Christopher Columbus

Today in History–August 3–the Library of Congress features Christopher Columbus, who set sail for what would later be known as the new world on this day in 1492. Columbus had the most modern maritime tools on his ship, including a mariner’s compass, an astrolabe, a cross-staff, and a quadrant and, quite possibly, the popular mariner map Ptolemy’s Geography or Cosmography. A little…