Hernando Cortez (1485-1547)

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro was the Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that brought about the fall of the Aztec Empire and claimed Mexico for Spain in 1519.

Juan Cabrillo (1499?-1543)

João Rodrigues Cabrilho was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to navigate the coast of present day California. He left Navidad (now Acapulco) Mexico, on June 27, 1542, and sailed as far north as the Russian River. Dangerous winter storms forced him to back to Catalina Island, where he died.

Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596)

Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain and privateer who plundered the Spanish presence in the New World during his famed circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580. In 1579 he landed somewhere near San Francisco, and claimed it for England as New Albion.

Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548-1624)

In 1602 the Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno mapped the coastline of Alta California in detail, almost as far as the San Francisco Bay. His work encouraged enthusiasm for establishing a Spanish settlement at Monterey.

Gaspar de Portolá (1716-1784)

In 1768 Portolá led an expedition including soldiers, settlers and missionaries up the California coast from San Diego to Monterey. Among his group was Father Junipero Serra, who established Franciscan missions along what came to be known as the Camino Real.

Juan Bautista de Anza (1736-1788)

A soldier and explorer, de Anza led expeditions into Alta California during the 1770s, helping to establish the Spanish presence from Monterey to San Francisco.