Henry the Navigator
Henry the Navigator (1394–1460), a Portuguese prince, a son of King John I. Henry sponsored expeditions that prepared the way for the European discovery of America and the establishment of a sea route to India; he himself never made a sea voyage. Henry hoped his sailors could reach India by finding a river that would cut through the interior of Africa to the Red Sea. The navigators sponsored by Henry charted the West African coast as far as the mouth of the Gambia River; rediscovered the Madeira Islands (1418) and the Azores (1431); and discovered the Cape Verde Islands (1456).