* 1779 – Louis de Freycinet, French explorer ( d. 1842 )

* 1541 – French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.

* 1741 – Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, French navy officer and explorer ( d. 1788 )

* Alexandra David-Néel ( 1868 – 1969 ), French explorer and spiritualist

* Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, French explorer, founder of Detroit

However, it was French explorer Jacques Cartier who made the first detailed reconnaissance of the region for a European power, and in so doing, claimed the region for the King of France.

Diego Garcia had no permanent inhabitants when discovered by the Spanish explorer Diego García de Moguer in the 16th century and remained so until settled as a French colony in 1793.

* 1873 – Francis Garnier, French explorer ( b. 1839 )

French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac sailed up the Detroit River on July 23, 1701.

* 1840 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer ( d. 1892 )

* 1772 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer ( b. 1724 )

* 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer ( d. 1675 )

* 1534 – French explorer Jacques Cartier plants a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and takes possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France.

* 1786 – Joseph Nicollet, French mathematician and explorer ( d. 1843 )

* 1740 – Jeanne Baré, French explorer ( d. 1803 )

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (; commonly known in English as Jacques Cousteau ; 11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997 ) was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.

It is believed that the French explorer Jean Nicolet was the first non-Native American to reach Lake Michigan in 1634 or 1638.

The lake was named for the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it in 1609.

The French explorer Jacques Marquette contacted the tribe in 1673 and paved the way for trade with the French.

The French explorer Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont visited the people in the early 1720s.

* 1790 – Jules Dumont d ' Urville, French naval officer, admiral, and explorer ( d. 1842 )

* 1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer ( d. 1945 )

* 1643 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle, French explorer ( d. 1687 )

* 1729 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer ( d. 1811 )

In 1669 René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, led an expedition of French traders who became the first Europeans to see the river.

* March 19 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French explorer ( b. 1643 )

* November 22 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French explorer ( d. 1687 )

* July 24 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle sails from France, again, with a large expedition designed to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

European exploration came later, beginning in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.

La Salle County is named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a 17th-century French explorer.

The western half where the Town of Olla is situated became La Salle Parish, named for French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.

French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort Miami on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.

Catholic priest and missionary Father Louis Hennepin accompanied fellow French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle on the ship Le Griffon in exploring the Great Lakes in 1679.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de La Salle ( November 21, 1643 – March 19, 1687 ) was a French explorer.

An Ontario Heritage Trust plaque describes René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle at Cataracoui as " major figure in the expansion of the French fur trade into the Lake Ontario region, Using the fort as a base, he undertook expeditions to the west and southwest in the interest of developing a vast fur-trading empire.

* René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle ( 1643 – 1687 ), French explorer of North America

The globes depicted the latest information of French explorations in North America, particularly the expeditions of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.

The two were linked by similarly themed names, both being named for French explorers — Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac and René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, respectively.

French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort St. Louis on a large butte by the Illinois River in the winter of 1682.

Portrait of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who built the first French settlement in northern Illinois

French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort St. Louis on a large butte by the river in the winter of 1682.

The name comes from the Spanish adaptation of the French vache or cow, given to the area by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle for the sightings of Plains Bison, which were once common near the bay and the creeks that feed it.

In 1685, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established the colony of Fort St. Louis along the bay's shore after missing the entrance to the Mississippi River.

The first European base was established in 1682, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established a French colony, Fort Saint Louis, near Matagorda Bay.

In April 1682, French nobleman René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle had claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley for France.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle founded the French colony in Texas.

The first European to visit the area was the French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1669.