List of women explorers and travelers explained

The women listed below are or were explorers or world travelers. They include naturalists, sailors, mountain climbers, dog sledders, swimmers, pilots, and underwater explorers. Astronauts are not included here but in the list of women astronauts.

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Name Nationality Born Died Achievement/s
data-sort-value="Adams, Harriet" American1875 1937 Explored and photographed South America, Asia, South Pacific
data-sort-value="Aebi, Tania" American1966 Held the record as the youngest person and first American woman to sail solo around the world (with stops and assistance)
Alexis AlfordAmerican1998Youngest person to travel to every country in the world
data-sort-value="Aston, Felicity" Felicity AstonBritish1977 First person to ski alone across the Antarctic land-mass using only personal muscle power, as well as the first woman to cross the Antarctic land-mass alone
data-sort-value="Arduin, Dominick" French1960 2004 Disappeared on her attempt to become the first woman to ski alone to the North Pole
data-sort-value="Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam" Florence Augusta Merriam BaileyAmerican1863 1948 American ornithologist and nature writer, who conducted extensive field work in the American West
data-sort-value="Bancroft, Ann" Ann BancroftAmerican1955 First woman to travel over the ice cap to the North and South Poles
data-sort-value="Baré, Jeanne" French1740 1807 First woman (disguised as a man) to circumnavigate the world
data-sort-value="Batten, Jean" Jean BattenNew Zealander1909 1982 First person to fly between England and New Zealand solo - broke other records
data-sort-value="Beckwith, Carol"Carol BeckwithAmerican1945Photographer, author, and filmmaker known for documenting the tribal cultures of Africa, most notably in partnership with Australian photographer Angela Fisher
data-sort-value="Bell, Gertrude" Gertrude BellBritish1868 1926 Explored and mapped the region of Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Arabia
data-sort-value="Benham, Gertrude" Gertrude BenhamBritish1867 1938 Explorer, hiker and mountaineer; Truda Peaks of Mount Rogers is named after her
data-sort-value="Bent, Mabel" Mabel BentAnglo-Irish1847 1929 Explored and excavated with her husband James Theodore Bent in the Eastern Mediterranean, South Africa and Southern Arabia
data-sort-value="Bingham, Laura" Laura BinghamBritish1992 Executed expedition to cross continent of South America with no money
data-sort-value="Bird, Isabella" Isabella BirdBritish1831 1904 Explorer, writer and naturalist who travelled by herself through North America, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Persia, Kurdistan, Turkey, and Morocco
data-sort-value="Bird-Walton, Nancy" Nancy Bird-WaltonAustralian1915 2009 Australian aviation pioneer
data-sort-value="Bly, Nellie" Nellie BlyAmerican1864 1922 Pioneering journalist who travelled around the world in 72 days, the first person to do so
data-sort-value="Boarelli, Alessandra" Alessandra BoarelliItalian1838 1908 Italian mountaineer and the first woman to summit Monviso in the Alps in 1864
data-sort-value="Bougault, Laurence" Laurence BougaultFrench19702018French poet and long-distance horseback adventurer in Africa, Middle East and Europe
data-sort-value="Bourbonnaud, Louise" Louise BourbonnaudFrench18471915French philanthropist, explorer and writer who traveled alone through North and South America and the Far East
data-sort-value="Boyd, Louise Arner" Louise Arner BoydAmerican1887 1972 Explored Greenland and the Arctic
Beatrix BulstrodeBritish18691951Journalist and writer who traveled through China and Mongolia in 1911–1913
data-sort-value="Butcher, Susan" Susan ButcherAmerican1954 2006 Dog musher in Alaska
data-sort-value="Cabra, Berthe" Berthe CabraBelgian18641947Belgian traveller, first European woman to travel across central Africa from East to West
data-sort-value="Canary, Martha" Calamity JaneAmerican1852 1903 American frontierswoman and professional scout, known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok and for fighting Indigenous peoples of the Americas
data-sort-value="Charlotte, Cameron" Charlotte CameronAmerican1872 or 1873 1946 American traveller and author
data-sort-value="Chlumska, Renata" Renata ChlumskaCzech and Swedish1973 Climbed Mount Everest, kayaked and bicycled around lower 48 states of USA
data-sort-value="Chojnowska, Krystyna" Polish1936 2021 First woman to sail solo around the world
data-sort-value="Cottee" Kay CotteeAustralian1954 First woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world
data-sort-value="Coudreau, Octavie" Octavie CoudreauFrenchEarly explorer and geographer of the Amazon region in Brazil and French Guiana
data-sort-value="Crocker, Aimée" Aimée CrockerAmerican1864 1941 Heiress, writer spent a decade exploring the Far East in the 1890s; toured the interior of Java and Borneo
data-sort-value="Danenberg, Sophia" Sophia DanenbergAmerican1972 First black woman to reach summit of Mount Everest
data-sort-value="Dautheville, Anne-France" Anne-France DauthevilleFrenchc.1943 First woman to motorcycle solo around the world
data-sort-value="David, Alexandra" Alexandra David-NéelFrench1868 1969 Travelled to Tibet while closed to foreigners
data-sort-value="Davidson, Robyn" Robyn DavidsonAustralian1950 1700order=flipNaNorder=flip camel trek from Alice Springs to the west coast of Australia
data-sort-value="DePecol, Cassandra" Cassandra De PecolAmerican1989Traveled to all sovereign nations on a trip from July 24, 2015, to February 2, 2017; she thus obtained the Guinness World Record for "Fastest Person (Female) to Travel to All Sovereign Nations" and is the first documented woman, fastest American, and youngest American to do such a trip[1]
data-sort-value="Dekker, Laura" Laura DekkerDutch, German, and New Zealander1995 Youngest person to sail around world solo
data-sort-value="Dickson, Eva" Swedish1905 1938 Swedish explorer, aviator, travel writer and rally driver; first woman to cross the Sahara by car
data-sort-value="Drummond, Lady Hay"British1895 1946 First woman to circumnavigate the world by air (by zeppelin)
data-sort-value="Durham, Edith" British1863 1944 Explored Albania and the Balkans
data-sort-value="Earhart, Amelia" American1897 1937 First woman to fly solo across Atlantic
data-sort-value="Eberhardt, Isabelle" Swiss1877 1904 Swiss explorer and writer in Algeria, who converted to Islam and traveled freely dressed as a man
data-sort-value="Ederle, Gertrude" Gertrude EderleAmerican1905 2003 First woman to swim English Channel
data-sort-value="Fiennes, Ginny" British1947 2004 First woman to be awarded the Polar Medal, and architect of the Transglobe Expedition[2]
data-sort-value="Gordon-Gallien, Enid" British1931Explored and mapped Kalambo Falls
data-sort-value="Hillary, Barbara" American1931 2019 First African American woman to reach North Pole
data-sort-value="Johnson, Amy" British1903 1941 Pioneering aviator who set long-distance flying records
data-sort-value="Johnson, Osa" American1894 1953 Made films of and wrote books about travels in Africa, South Pacific, Borneo
1935 2000 First woman to travel on ice to the South Pole
data-sort-value="Kaltenbrunner, Gerlinde" Austrian1970 First woman to climb all fourteen eight-thousander mountains without supplementary oxygen
data-sort-value="Karlin, Alma" Alma Maximiliana KarlinSlovene1889 1950 World traveler, writer, poet, polyglot and theosophist; second European woman to circle the world solo; in an eight-year travel, she explored North and South America, Oceania, Australia, East Asia, and India
data-sort-value="Kingsley, Mary" British1862 1900 Ethnographer and explorer of West Africa
Belinda KirkBritishFounder of Explorers Connect; has travelled across Africa, Nicaragua, and the Chinese Taklamakan Desert; captained the first all-female rowing team to circumnavigate Britain non-stop
data-sort-value="Kutincheva, Lyuba" Lyuba KutinchevaBulgarian19101998Bulgarian traveler and polyglot who traveled for almost a decade (1929–1938) through the Middle East, Far East, northern Africa and Europe
data-sort-value="Legendre, Gertrude Sanford" Gertrude Sanford LegendreAmerican19022000American socialite who was a noted explorer and big-game hunter; contributed rare specimens from Africa, Iran, Southeast Asia, Canada, and Alaska to natural history museums
data-sort-value="Londonderry, Annie" Latvian American1870 1947 First woman to bicycle around the world
data-sort-value="Maillart, Ella " Ella MaillartSwiss1903 1997 Explorer and travel writer in Asia from the late 1920s through to World War II; wrote Forbidden Journey – From Peking to Kashmir
data-sort-value="Mansfield, Charlotte" British1881 1936 Wrote Via Rhodesia (1911) about her travels in Southern Africa
data-sort-value="Markham, Beryl" Beryl MarkhamBritish1902 1986 British-born Kenyan aviator (one of the first bush pilots), adventurer, racehorse trainer and author; first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west
data-sort-value="Marquis, Sarah" Swiss1972 Swiss adventurer and explorer who walked 10000order=flipNaNorder=flip across Asia, Siberia and Australia
data-sort-value="Maxwell, Nicole" American1906 1998 Traveled the Amazon jungle gathering plants for natural remedies and medical use, reportedly amassing over 600 plants; wrote Witch Doctor's Apprentice: Hunting for Medicinal Plants in the Amazon
data-sort-value="Mazuchelli, Elizabeth Sarah " Elizabeth Sarah MazuchelliBritish1832 1914 Reportedly first western woman to see Mount Everest; wrote The Indian Alps and How We Crossed Them
data-sort-value="Meakin, Annette" Annette MeakinBritish1867 1959 First Englishwoman to cross the Trans-Siberian Railway; wrote about this in The Ribbon of Iron; travelled in Russian Turkestan and other parts of Russia
data-sort-value="Mexia, Ynes" Mexican-American1870 1938 Mexican botanist and explorer who started her career at age 55; discovered one new genus (Mexianthus) and many new species of plants
data-sort-value="Mocsary, Belane" Hungarian1845 1917 Hungarian geographer and travel writer who journeyed solo to four continents in the early 1900s
data-sort-value="Murphy, Dervla" Irish1931 2022 Irish travel writer known for cycling alone through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan to India
data-sort-value="North, Marianne" British1830 1890 Prolific English Victorian biologist and botanical artist
data-sort-value="O'Brien, Vanessa" American and British1964 First woman to reach Earth's highest (Mt. Everest 8,848m) and lowest points (Challenger Deep 10,925m)
data-sort-value="Pfeiffer, Ida" Austrian1797 1858 Travelled alone around the world in 1847, published books of her numerous travels
data-sort-value="Pine, Dorothy" American1920 2011 Possibly first woman to visit all 193 UN-recognised countries
data-sort-value="Pinheiro, Anésia" Brazilian1904 1999 Second Brazilian licensed female pilot in Brazil
data-sort-value="Puigaudeau, Odette du" French1894 1991 made three trips to northern Africa to conduct field research among the nomads of the western Sahara region and eventually moved to Morocco
Teresa RemiszewskaPolish19282002first Polish woman to make a solo sailing voyage around the Baltic Sea, using the yacht Zenit, taking a 690-mile route
data-sort-value="Rice, Kate" Canadian1882 1963 First woman prospector in Northern Canada, writer, and trapper well known for her dog sled abilities
data-sort-value="Rutkiewicz, Wanda" Polish1943 1992 Polish mountain climber, first woman to successfully summit K2
data-sort-value="Saint-Pierre, Vefa de" French18721967Global voyager and hunter traveling across North and South America and Australia, writing about her adventures
data-sort-value="Salak, Kira" American1971 Travelled in Mali and Papua New Guinea
data-sort-value="Schwarzenbach, Annemarie" Swiss1908 1942 Journalist and photographer, travelled to Iran, Afghanistan, Africa
Eliza ScidmoreAmerican18561928Journalist and travel writer on Alaska and Far East; introduced idea of Japanese cherry trees to Washington, D.C.
data-sort-value="Smeeton, Beryl" British1905 1979 Mountaineer, cruising sailor, overland traveller
data-sort-value="Smith Peck, Annie" American1850 1935 First person to climb Mount Nevado Huascarán in the Andes
data-sort-value="Solomonides, Stephanie" Stephanie SolomonidesCypriot1982 First Cypriot person to reach North and South Poles
data-sort-value="Stanhope, Hester" Hester StanhopeBritish1776 1839 Conducted first modern archaeology in Holy Land; travelled dressed as a man (unveiled)
data-sort-value="Stark, Freya" British and Italian (French born)1893 1993 Travelled within and wrote about the Middle East, including the Arabian deserts, Afghanistan
data-sort-value="Stevenson, Matilda Coxe"American1849 1915 Ethnologist and geologist who explored the Rocky Mountain region and the Southwest U.S.
data-sort-value="Stinnes, Clärenore"German1901 1990 First woman to circumnavigate the world by automobile
data-sort-value="Swale-Pope, Rosie" Swiss, Irish, and British1946 Has run, walked and sailed around the world
data-sort-value="Tabei, Junko" Japanese1939 2016 First woman to reach summit of Mount Everest
data-sort-value="Taylor, Annie" American1838 1921 First person to survive a trip over the Niagara Falls in a barrel
data-sort-value="Thorbjarnardóttir, Gudrid"Gudrid ThorbjarnardóttirIcelandic980 1019 With her husband, led an expedition to North America
data-sort-value="Tinne, Alexine"Dutch1835 1869 Dutch explorer in Africa and the first European woman to attempt to cross the Sahara
data-sort-value="Van Buren, Adeline" American1889 1949 Along with her sister Augusta Van Buren, the first women to ride solo motorcycles across the continental US
data-sort-value="Van Buren, Augusta" American1884 1959 Along with her sister Adeline Van Buren, the first women to ride solo motorcycles across the continental US
data-sort-value="Vassal, Gabrielle Maud" Gabrielle Maud VassalBritish1880 1959 Naturalist in Vietnam, Congo, Gabon
data-sort-value="Wanderwell, Aloha" Aloha WanderwellAmerican1906 1996 First woman to drive around the world
data-sort-value="Watson, Jessica" Jessica WatsonAustralian and New Zealander1993 Youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world (but did not fulfil WSSRC criteria)
data-sort-value="Workman, Fanny" Fanny Bullock WorkmanAmerican1859 1925 American cartographer, explored glaciers in Himalayas-->

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: McNulty . Rose . How Cassandra De Pecol became the first woman to travel every country on the planet—and stayed insanely fit . Mensfitness.com . 2017-02-14.
  2. News: Lady Virginia Fiennes Wife of explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and first woman to receive the Polar Medal . 21 May 2024 . . 25 February 2004.