John Cabot

John Cabot, born Giovanni Caboto (c. 1450–c. 1499), was an Italian navigator who sailed for England. A Venetian citizen, he traded in the Mediterranean before debts drove him from Venice in 1488, reaching London in 1495.

In 1496 Henry VII granted him letters patent to seek new lands. Sailing from Bristol on 2 May 1497, he made landfall in North America, probably Newfoundland, on 24 June and claimed it for England.

In 1498 he sailed with five ships; one reached Ireland after a storm, the others continuing. His fate and the expedition's outcome remain unknown.