Timothy Baker, age 9 of St. Catharine’s Ont., for his question:

Who first proved that the earth was a sphere?

Most of the ancients believed the world was flat. Some believed it was held on the shoulders of a giant. Some thought it was supported on pillars and others were sure the earth was a flat tabletop held on the back of a giant turtle.

Gallileo and other astronomers of his day were sure that the earth was a sphere similar to the other heavenly bodies. But it was Ferdinand Magellan who first proved that the earth was round. Sad to say, the great mariner proved this fact without knowing it.

Magellan made many voyages before he set out to circle the globe. One eastbound voyage took him to the Indies, beyond the longitude of the Philippines. His last voyage was westward and he died in the Philippines. True he had sailed around the world without knowing it.

Magellants last voyage was completed by Juan Sebastian del Cano, the first mariner to circumnavigate the world. He was the first to bring back proof that the world is a sphere. His one ship, the Vittoria, arrived in Seville harbor on September 9, 1522.