John Cabot

Cabot, John (Giovanni Caboto; c.1450-c.1499), Italian navigator and explorer, probably the first European to reach the North American mainland. In 1497, after receiving permission from Henry VII to sail for England, Cabot sailed in search of a western route to Asia and reached the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, where he planted the English and Venetian flags. On a second voyage (1498) Cabot may have reached America again, or may have been lost at sea.