The Most Famous
EXPLORERS from Romania
Top 4
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 54.44, 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 52.83, Nikolai Spathari is the 2nd most famous Romanian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 18 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. Florence Baker (1841 - 1916)
With an HPI of 49.75, Florence Baker is the 3rd most famous Romanian Explorer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Florence, Lady Baker, or Florence Barbara Marie Finnian: or Florica Maria Sas; or Maria Freiin von Sas; or Barbara Maria Szász (6 August 1841 – 11 March 1916) was a Hungarian-born British explorer. Born in Transylvania (then in the Kingdom of Hungary), she became an orphan when her parents and brother were murdered by the Romanian marauders led by Ioan Axente Sever and Simion Prodan who killed approximately 1000 predominantly Hungarian civilians in Nagyenyed on 8–9 January, 1849. She fled with the remains of the Hungarian army to the Ottoman Empire, to Vidin. Here she disappeared as child only to be seen in 1859 by Samuel Baker who rescued her. While Baker was visiting the Duke of Atholl on his shooting estate in Scotland, he befriended Maharaja Duleep Singh and in 1858–1859, the two partnered an extensive hunting trip in central Europe and the Balkans, via Frankfurt, Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. On the last part of the voyage, Baker and the Maharajah hired a wooden boat in Budapest, which was eventually abandoned on the frozen Danube. The two continued into Vidin where, to amuse the Maharajah, Baker went to the Vidin slave market. There, Baker fell in love with a white slave girl, Florence, destined for the Ottoman Pasha of Vidin. He was outbid by the Pasha but bribed the girl's attendants and they ran away in a carriage together and eventually she became his lover and wife and accompanied him everywhere he journeyed. They are reported to have married, most probably in Bucharest, before going to Dubrushka, but Sir Samuel certainly promised that they would go through another ceremony on their return to England – where they had a family wedding in 1865. Together they went in search of the source of the River Nile and found Lake Albert. They journeyed to Samuel Baker's home in England where they were married and she became Lady Baker. She later returned to Africa with her husband to try and put down the slave trade. They both retired and died in Devon.
4. Sámuel Teleki (1845 - 1916)
With an HPI of 48.43, Sámuel Teleki is the 4th 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.
People
Pantheon has 4 people classified as Romanian explorers born between 1636 and 1857. Of these 4, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Romanian explorers include Julius Popper, Nikolai Spathari, and Florence Baker. As of April 2024, 1 new Romanian explorers have been added to Pantheon including Florence Baker.
Deceased Romanian Explorers
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Julius Popper
1857 - 1893
HPI: 54.44
Nikolai Spathari
1636 - 1708
HPI: 52.83
Florence Baker
1841 - 1916
HPI: 49.75
Sámuel Teleki
1845 - 1916
HPI: 48.43
Newly Added Romanian Explorers (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Explorers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Explorers since 1700.
