Order of Magellan
Encyclopedia
The Order of Magellan is an honor bestowed on distinguished individuals who have circumnavigated the earth and who, over the course of their career, have contributed to the world of science or the environment or future progress through peace and understanding.
Among the pantheon of winners of this award are Douglas MacArthur
, philanthropist
and mountaineer
Sir Edmund Hillary
, ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl
, Dr. William Walsh
, who started Project Hope, oceanographer and underwater archaeologist Dr. Robert Ballard
, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau
, and astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn
. The Magellan Award is the highest award bestowed by the Circumnavigators Club, founded in 1902.
The honor is named after the Portuguese
born explorer, Ferdinand Magellan
, who is widely known as the first captain to sail around the world -- though he didn't complete the circumnavigation as he died during the voyage in the Philippines, being the Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano
, who took over command of the expedition after Magellan's death, and completed the trip.
Among the pantheon of winners of this award are Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
Sir Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
, ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
, Dr. William Walsh
William Walsh
William Walsh was an English poet and critic, son of Joseph Walsh of Abberley Hall, Worcestershire.He entered Wadham College, Oxford, as a gentleman commoner in 1678. Leaving the university without a degree, he settled in his native county, and was returned MP for Worcestershire in 1698, 1701 and...
, who started Project Hope, oceanographer and underwater archaeologist Dr. Robert Ballard
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989,...
, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
, and astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
. The Magellan Award is the highest award bestowed by the Circumnavigators Club, founded in 1902.
The honor is named after the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
born explorer, Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
, who is widely known as the first captain to sail around the world -- though he didn't complete the circumnavigation as he died during the voyage in the Philippines, being the Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano
Juan Sebastián Elcano
Juan Sebastián Elcano was a Basque Spanish explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. As Ferdinand Magellan's second in command, Elcano took over after Magellan's death in the Philippines.-Early life:Elcano was born to Domingo Sebastián Elcano I and Catalina del Puerto...
, who took over command of the expedition after Magellan's death, and completed the trip.