Discoverer of the sea-route to the East Indies; born Sines, Portugal, 1469; died Cochin, India, 1524. After distinguishing himself against the French, 1490, on the coast of Guinea, Da Gama was commissioned by King Manuel I to complete the discoveries of Dias and De Covilhao. He sailed from Lisbon, July 8, 1497, reached the coast of Natal on Christmas Day, hence its name, and after touching at Mozambique, Mombasa, and Melinda, reached Calicut, India, May 20, 1498. Sailing for home, October 5, 1498, he arrived at Lisbon in September 1499. His second voyage in 1502, during which he destroyed 29 Arab ships-of-war at Calicut, was a brilliant commercial success. In 1524 he was sent out as viceroy to India, and died shortly after his arrival. The story of his discoveries forms a large part of Camoes's "Lusiad."