The first man to complete a circumnavigation of the world was Juan Sebastián Elcano, a Basque navigator who took command after Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521. Elcano led the remaining crew of the expedition back to Spain aboard the ship Victoria , completing the journey in September 1522. Although Magellan initiated and led the expedition that set out in 1519, he did not survive the entire voyage, so Elcano is credited with completing the first known circumnavigation of the globe

. There is also historical speculation that an enslaved man named Enrique, who served as an interpreter on Magellan's expedition, may have been the first person to circumnavigate the globe during his lifetime, as he had traveled with Magellan before and after the expedition and might have returned to his homeland earlier than the Victoria 's arrival in Spain. However, this is not definitively confirmed

. In summary:

• Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the world but died before its completion.
• Juan Sebastián Elcano completed the circumnavigation by returning to Spain in 1522.
• Enrique, an enslaved interpreter, might have been the first individual to circumnavigate the globe, but this is uncertain.

Therefore, Juan Sebastián Elcano is recognized as the first man to successfully complete a circumnavigation of the world