Antonio de Andrade was born in 1580 in Oleiros, Portugal, and he died on 19th March 1634 (aged 54 years) in Goa Velha. Antonio was an explorer and a Jesuit priest. He was the first person to cross the Himalayas to reach Tibet where he was the first to establish a Catholic mission. Antonio and a fellow Jesuit priest joined the group of Hindu pilgrims and reached the Badrinath temple in the Northern part of India and from there they crossed the Mana pass into Tibet. He also wrote two accounts of his experiences in Tibet in Portuguese; his accounts were translated into all major European languages.
Do you know: Antonio was attached to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and was the head of the Jesuit mission in Agra and Goa.
