EXPLORERS from Romania

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Romanian Explorers of all time. This list of famous Romanian Explorers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Julius Popper (1857 - 1893)

With an HPI of 53.66, Julius Popper is the most famous Romanian Explorer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Julius Popper (December 15, 1857 – June 5, 1893), known in Spanish as Julio Popper (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxuljo poˈpeɾ]), was a Romanian-born Argentine engineer, adventurer, and explorer. He was known as a modern "conquistador" of Tierra del Fuego in southern South America, and was both a controversial and influential figure. Popper was one of the main perpetrators of the genocide against the native Selk'nam people in the islands, and the circumstances surrounding his own death remain a mystery.

2. Nikolai Spathari (1636 - 1708)

With an HPI of 51.64, Nikolai Spathari is the 2nd most famous Romanian Explorer.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Nikolai Spathari (Russian: Николай Гаврилович Спафарий, romanized: Nikolai Gavrilovich Spathari; 1636–1708), also known as Nicolae Milescu and Nicolae Milescu Spătaru (Romanian pronunciation: [nikoˈla.e miˈlesku spəˈtaru], first name also Neculai, signing in Latin as Nicolaus Spadarius Moldavo-Laco, Russian: Николае Гаврилович Милеску, romanized: Nikolaye Gavrilovich Milesku), or Spătarul Milescu-Cârnu (trans.: "Chancellor Milescu the Snub-nosed"), was a Moldavian-born writer, diplomat and traveler, who lived and worked in the Tsardom of Russia. He spoke nine languages: Romanian, Russian, Latin, both Attic and Modern Greek, French, German, Turkish and Swedish. One of his grandsons was the Spătar (Chancellor) Yuri Stefanovich, who came to Russia in 1711 with Dimitrie Cantemir.

3. Sámuel Teleki (1845 - 1916)

With an HPI of 47.51, Sámuel Teleki is the 3rd most famous Romanian Explorer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék (1 November 1845 – 10 March 1916) was a Hungarian explorer who led the first expedition to Northern Kenya. He was the first European to see Lake Turkana.