first to reach Brazil, landing there on 22 April 1500, and then continuing east to India. Dias perished in May 1500 when captaining a ship near the Cape of Good Hope: four ships, including Dias’s, encountered a huge storm off the cape and were lost on 29 May. Personal life Dias was married and had two sons, Simão Dias de Novais and António Dias de Novais. His grandson Paulo Dias de Novais became the first governor of Portuguese Angola and, in 1576, the founder of São Paulo de Luanda. Legacy The Portuguese government erected two navigational beacons, Dias Cross and da Gama Cross, to commemorate Dias and Vasco da Gama, who were the first modern European explorers to reach the Cape of Good Hope. When lined up, these crosses point to Whittle Rock , a large, permanently submerged shipping hazard in False Bay. See also Dias Cross Memorial Diogo Cão Diogo Dias References Bibliography External links Catholic Encyclopedia 1450s births 1500 deaths 15th-century explorers of Africa Maritime history of South Africa Portuguese explorers Portuguese Roman Catholics Maritime history of Portugal 15th-century Portuguese people South African explorers 1