This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lopes Gonçalves" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Lopes Gonçalves | |
---|---|
Nationality | Portuguese |
Occupation | Sailor |
Known for | First European sailor crossing Earth's equator |
Lopes Gonçalves or Lopo Gonçalves was a Portuguese explorer of the African coast. He was the first European sailor to cross the equator, the first to reach the point where the coast turns south and the first to reach Gabon. In 1473 or 1474 he and Rui de Sequeira, pushing Portuguese exploration east along the Nigerian coast, reached the point where the coast begins to run south. He followed it south, crossed the equator, passed Cape Lopez in Gabon, which is named after him, and reached Cape St. Catherine, which is about 2 degrees south.
References
- J. H. Parry, The Age of Reconnaissance, 1963, page 149
This article about a Portuguese explorer is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |