Lopes Gonçalves or Lopo Gonçalves was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

explorer of the African coast. He was the first European sailor to cross the equator, the first to reach the point where the coast turns south and the first to reach

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

. In 1473 or 1474 he and Rui de Sequeira, pushing Portuguese exploration east along the

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n coast, reached the point where the coast begins to run south. He followed it south, crossed the equator, passed

Cape Lopez Cape Lopez () is a headland on the coast of Gabon, west central Africa. The westernmost point of Gabon, it separates the Gulf of Guinea from the South Atlantic Ocean. Cape Lopez is the northernmost point of a low, wooded island between two mouths ...

in Gabon, which is named after him, and reached Cape St. Catherine, which is about 2 degrees south.

References

* J. H. Parry, The Age of Reconnaissance, 1963, page 149 Portuguese explorers 15th-century explorers of Africa 15th-century Portuguese people Maritime history of Portugal {{Portugal-explorer-stub