August 10

On the 10th in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan left Seville, Spain with five ships that had been given to him by Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain. Magellan had been given the task of discovering a safe passage from Spain to the lucrative Spice Islands in Indonesia. Things got a bit out of hand at one point and in the Philippines Magellan was killed by a native. Juan Sebastian Elcano took the helm and continued with the voyage. When the remains of Magellan’s fleet and what was left of the crew finally made it back to Spain on September 6, 1522, they had unintentionally made the first circumnavigation of the planet. Only 18 of the original 270 officers and crew of Magellan’s fleet made it home again.