The first person to successfully circumnavigate the globe (as far as surviving, documented evidence shows) was the Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, who completed Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition in 1522.

Quick Scoop

Most people hear “Magellan” as the answer, but the story is more nuanced.

  • Ferdinand Magellan organized and led the first expedition that achieved a full circumnavigation of Earth, sailing from Spain in 1519.
  • Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521 and never made it back to Spain.
  • After his death, Juan Sebastián Elcano took command of the remaining ship, Victoria, and brought it home to Spain in 1522, completing the first full loop around the planet.
  • Because of this, historians usually say:
    • Magellan led the first circumnavigation expedition.
* Elcano was the first person (we can name) who actually finished the journey.

Fast facts

  1. Departure: 1519, from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain.
  1. Return: 1522, with just one ship and about 18 survivors left from roughly 270 men.
  1. Second circumnavigation: Completed by Sir Francis Drake in 1580.

In quizzes or school exams, you’ll often see “Ferdinand Magellan” as the answer to “who was the first person to circumnavigate the globe,” but strictly speaking, Elcano was the one who physically finished that first full voyage.

TL;DR: The first voyage to circumnavigate the globe was Magellan’s expedition, but the first person to actually complete it and return was Juan Sebastián Elcano in 1522.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.