Top 10 Famous Explorers. A list of 10 of the world’s greatest and most famous explorers. 1. Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) An Italian explorer, Columbus made four ground-breaking voyages to the Americas (1st journey was in 1492 to the Bahamas).n 1926, he led the first successful expedition to reach the North Pole. He also made the first voyage through the Northwest Passage. 4. Marco Polo (1254 – 1324) Polo was a Venetian traveller and explorer who made ground-breaking journeys to Asia and China.