Choose Your Mentors
Browse 10 mentors from history and literature. Build your personal board of advisors.
10 mentors found
Marco Polo
13th-14th Century Venice/China
Known for
The Silk Road and bridging East and West
"I have not told half of what I saw."
From: The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1
53 mentor adoptions
Sir Ernest Shackleton
20th Century Ireland/England
Known for
Antarctic survival and bringing every man home alive
"Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all."
From: Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest
49 mentor adoptions
Nellie Bly
19th Century America
Known for
Around the world in 72 days and pioneering investigative journalism
"Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything."
From: Nellie Bly's Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days
44 mentor adoptions
David Livingstone
19th Century Scotland/Africa
Known for
Exploring Africa and fighting the slave trade
"I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward."
From: How I found Livingstone : $b Travels, adventures, and discoveres in Central Africa, including an account of four months' residence with Dr. Livingstone
43 mentor adoptions
Columbus
15th-16th Century Spain/Italy
Known for
Discovery of the Americas and opening the Age of Exploration
"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
From: The Life of Columbus: From His Own Letters and Journals and Other Documents of His Time
42 mentor adoptions
James Cook
18th Century England
Known for
Three voyages of discovery and mapping the Pacific
"Ambition leads me farther than any other man has been before me."
From: Captain Cook's Journal During His First Voyage Round the World: Made in H. M. Bark "Endeavour", 1768-71
37 mentor adoptions
Audubon
19th century America
Known for
Naturalist and artist who documented American birds with unprecedented beauty and scientific accuracy
A true conservationist knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children
From: Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Vol. 2 (of 2)
35 mentor adoptions
Henry M. Stanley
19th Century Wales/America/Africa
Known for
Finding Dr. Livingstone and exploring Central Africa
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
From: How I found Livingstone : $b Travels, adventures, and discoveres in Central Africa, including an account of four months' residence with Dr. Livingstone
25 mentor adoptions
Humboldt
18th-19th Century Germany/Americas
Known for
Father of ecology and scientific exploration of the Americas
"The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have not viewed the world."
From: Letters of Alexander von Humboldt to Varnhagen von Ense.: From 1827 to 1858. With extracts from Varnhagen's diaries, and letters of Varnhagen and others to Humboldt
22 mentor adoptions
Ferdinand Magellan
16th Century Portugal/Spain
Known for
First circumnavigation of the Earth and proving the world's true size
"The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore."
From: The Story of Magellan and The Discovery of the Philippines
18 mentor adoptions