Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), Prince of Portugal.

Prince Henry of Portugal set up an observatory at Sagres on Cape St. Vincent overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and planned voyages of discovery.

Scholars, map makers and sea captains visited him there and he sent ships out to find new lands and new sea routes.

His captains discovered the islands of Madeira, the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands and they made maps of the west coast of Africa as far south as present-day Sierra Leone.

See Sir Peter Russell Prince Henry the Navigator