Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira, was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and therefore, the West and the Orient.
Born: 1469, Sines, Portugal
Died: December 24, 1524, Kochi, India
Nationality: Portuguese
Buried: 1880, Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal
Children: Cristóvão da Gama, Estêvão da Gama, Francisco da Gama, Pedro de Silva da Gama