Columbus, Livingstone, Eriksson, Lewis and Clark--you've heard their stories. But what about the ladies? How come we never hear about women who explored the world? Well, here's your chance to meet seven extraordinary adventurers.

1. In 1869, Dutch explorer Alexandrine Pieternella Françoise Tinné set off to become the first European woman to cross the Sahara Desert. Unfortunately, on a side trip to visit a Tuareg tribe, she was robbed and murdered by her guides.

2. In 1892, Isabella Lucy Bird Bishop became the first woman to be elected to the Royal Geographic Society. She began her travels at age 21, when her family sent her on a sea voyage hoping that the travel would be good for her health. She ended up circling the globe three times, at times traveling by elephant.

3. Ida Reyer Pfeiffer of Austria was a smart traveler. She wrote books about her adventures, which then financed further travels. Upon returning from a trip around the world (1847-1848), she wrote A Lady's Voyage Round the World (published in English in 1852), which made her an international celebrity, and ship owners offered her free passage on seagoing vessels.

4. American May French Sheldon was inspired to explore by her friend Anglo-American explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley. In the 1890s she became one of the first white women to visit parts of eastern and central Africa.

5. In 1899 Mary Henrietta Kingsley, who'd previously explored west and central Africa, planned to return to west Africa. However, the Boer War drew her to South Africa where she cared for Boer prisoners of war. Unfortunately, she contracted typhoid and died at age 38.

6. Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope left England in 1810, never to return. She traveled the Middle East for several years, and finally settled in the Lebanon Mountains (in present-day Lebanon) where, due to her benevolence, the Arabs thought her akin to a goddess.

7. American Louise Arner Boyd spent many years exploring the Arctic, and gained recognition for this when a region on Greenland's northern coast was named Louise Boyd Land. In 1955, at age 68, Boyd became the first woman to fly over the North Pole.

For an adventure in learning, visit MSN Encarta. You'll find biographies of these--and many other--world travelers.

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