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Percy Fawcett -

Unlike many other explorers, British geographer Percy Fawcett searched for something that's never been proven to exist. In the early 20th century, he became convinced of the existence of an ancient city in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

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Percy Fawcett -

In the 1920s, he organized several expeditions with the goal of locating the city he dubbed as Z. During his final expiation in 1925, Fawcett disappeared along with his son, Jack, and one of Jack's friends, Raleigh Rimell.

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John Franklin -

In 1845, explorer John Franklin left Britain with more than 100 crew members in search of the Northwest Passage. His two ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, disappeared in the Canadian Arctic.

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John Franklin -

For over 150 years, it was thought that the ships and their crews had vanished without a trace. Then, in 2014, Inuit and Parks Canada archaeologists discovered the wreck of Erebus in the Victoria Strait. The remains of the Terror were found two years later off King William Island.

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Naomi Uemura -

On February 13, 1984, 43-year-old Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura disappeared while climbing Alaska’s Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley.

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Naomi Uemura -

A thrill-seeker from a young age, Uemura was hardly an amateur explorer. He became the first person to reach the North Pole solo, and also the first person to raft the Amazon solo.

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Eudoxus of Cyzicus -

Eudoxus of Cyzicus was a Greek explorer who failed to circumnavigate Africa from Europe in the 2nd century BCE. And while he wasn't the only one to attempt the journey, he may have been the first one who got lost trying.

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Eudoxus of Cyzicus -

Eudoxus had already made two successful trips to India via the Red Sea. However, when he was returning from his second trip, he was driven off course, possibly disappearing somewhere on the east coast of Africa.

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Amelia Earhart -

Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished on July 2, 1937. It was her second attempt to become the first pilot to circumnavigate the globe around the equatorial region.

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Amelia Earhart -

Neither their bodies nor their aircraft were ever recovered. Earhart was declared dead on January 5, 1939.

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Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse -

Lapérouse was a French naval officer and explorer. With a successful naval career since the age of 15, in 1785 he was appointed by France’s King Louis XVI to lead a scientific expedition around the world.

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Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse -

Lapérouse reached Australia in 1788, but after leaving Botany Bay his fleet disappeared. It wasn't until 1826 that an Irish captain, Peter Dillon, found evidence of Lapérouse's fate. Near the island of Vanikoro, he found anchors and other wreckage later confirmed to belong to Lapérouse’s two ships. However, Lapérouse’s remains were never found.

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Roald Amundsen -

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage by boat in 1905. And in 1911, a team he led became the first group to reach the South Pole.

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Roald Amundsen -

Amundsen disappeared on June 18, 1928, while flying on a rescue mission for the airship Italia in the Arctic. Parts of his aircraft were later discovered, indicating that it had crashed in the Barents Sea. But his remains were never found.

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Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real -

In 1500, Gaspar Corte-Real became one of Portugal’s most accomplished explorers when he led an expedition to Greenland, thinking it was East Asia. Nonetheless, he made a return trip the following year with his brother Miguel. After going to Greenland and possibly Newfoundland, two of the fleet’s three ships returned to Portugal, including the one captained by Miguel. However, Gaspar’s vessel never made it home.

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Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real -

When Miguel discovered that his brother was missing, he returned on a quest to rescue him. They searched the area without any luck. Once again, all but one of the fleet’s ships returned to Portugal, and this time it was Miguel’s ship that never made it back.

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Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi -

In 1291, another pair of siblings also disappeared during their travels. In search for a passage to Asia, Genoese brothers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi's expedition was never seen again after they entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar.

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Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi -

Though their journey was technically a failure, it wasn't for nothing. The mistakes the Vivaldis made helped lay the foundations for more successful voyages in the future.

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George Bass -

British mariner George Bass discovered the strait between the Australian mainland and the island state of Tasmania (the Bass Strait). However, he's even more famous for vanishing during a voyage to South America.

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George Bass -

What happened to Bass is still unknown. He departed Port Jackson in Australia on the Venus in 1803, but was never seen again.

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John Cabot -

John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) was an Italian navigator who became one of the first Europeans to reach the coast of North America after the Vikings. Commissioned by Henry VII of England, in 1497, Caboto discovered a "new-found land," today known as Newfoundland in Canada.

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John Cabot -

After returning to England to report his success, Cabot departed on a final expedition in 1498, but was never seen again.

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Henry Hudson -

Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator, who gave his name to the Hudson Bay, the Hudson River, the Hudson Strait, and a few other places.

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Henry Hudson -

Best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern US, Hudson vanished in 1610, after struggling to find the Northwest Passage to Asia.

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Ludwig Leichhardt -

German scientist and explorer Ludwig Leichhardt led several expeditions in Australia. On one occasion, he had even been declared dead only to return 18 months later, safe and sound.

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Ludwig Leichhardt -

In 1848, Leichhardt went off on his final expedition, with the intention of crossing the Australian desert from east to west. However, this time he was never seen again.

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Peng Jiamu -

Peng Jiamu was a Chinese biologist who vanished during a desert expedition in 1980. Since the '50s, he participated in multiple scientific expeditions to northwestern China’s Lop Nor desert, often described as one of the driest places in the world.

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Peng Jiamu -

In 1980, Peng led a team of biologists, geologists, and archaeologists to Lop Nor. However, several days into the journey he disappeared from his camp after leaving a note saying he was going out to find water.

Sources: (Mental Floss) (History)

See also: Female explorers you absolutely need to know about

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