The 18 survivors, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, of Ferdinand Magellan 's Castilian (' Spanish ') expedition (which began with 5 ships and 270 men); 1519 -- 1522; westward from Spain; in Victoria. After Magellan was killed by people of the Philippines Lapu - Lapu on 27 April 1521, the circumnavigation was completed under the command of the Basque Spanish seafarer Juan Sebastián Elcano who returned to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, on 6 September 1522, after a journey of 3 years and 1 month. These men were the first to circumnavigate the globe in a single expedition.
who was the first person to sail around the earth
The 18 survivors, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, of Ferdinand Magellan 's Castilian (' Spanish ') expedition