Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first maritime route between Europe and India—around the Cape of Good Hope, then across the Indian Ocean from Malindi in Kenya to Kozhikode—opened up European exploration of, and commerce with, India, and is considered a landmark event in world history. 1460 – January 3, 1525; died at about 65. Alive at the same time as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Martin Luther, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Leon Battista Alberti. Wiki link