Erden Eruç is a Turkish-American adventurer who became the first person in history to complete an entirely solo and entirely human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth on 21 July 2012 in Bodega Bay, California, United States. The journey had started from Bodega Bay a little more than five years earlier on 10 July 2007. The modes of transport included a rowboat to cross the oceans, a sea kayak for shorelines, a bicycle on the roads and hiking on trails, along with canoes for a few river crossings. The route he followed was 66,299 km (41,196 mi) long, crossed the equator twice and all lines of longitude, and passed over twelve pairs of antipodal points, meeting all the requirements for a true circumnavigation of the globe. Guinness World Records has officially recognized Eruç for the "First solo circumnavigation of the globe using human power" on a journey that lasted 5 years 11 days 12 hours and 22 minutes.
Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
On July 21, in the year 2012, Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of July 21, one of 424 recorded events on this date across all of history.
Key Facts
- This event took place on July 21, 2012 (AD era).
- It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
- Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
- Wikipedia source last updated on 7 June 2026.
On This Date in History 424
This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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