Vasco Da Gama

Vasco da Gama rounded the horn of Africa and made it possible to have trade with India in a way that surpassed what the Romans had managed, and took out the middle men along the way.  He died this day in 1594, and thus ended the life of a man who changed the world in ways that would have defined his era had not Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas at the very same time.  It was just hard to compete with finding entire continents that were previously unknown, and then the silver from the New World changed the global finance structure in a way that essentially meant we were never going back. 
Vasco da Gama was born in about 1460 into a noble family. Little is known of his early life. In 1497, he was appointed to command an expedition equipped by the Portuguese government, whose intention was to find a maritime route to the East.
Setting off in July 1497, da Gama's expedition took advantage of the prevailing winds by sailing south down the coast of Africa, then veering far out into the Atlantic and swinging back in an arc to arrive off the southern African coast. This established a route still followed by sailing vessels. The expedition then rounded the Cape of Good and, after sailing up the coast of east Africa, took on an Arab navigator who helped them reach the Indian coast, at Calicut (now Kozhikode) in May 1498. This voyage launched the all-water route from Europe to Asia.