Daniel Boone was an American frontiersman whose adventures made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. In 1775, working for the Transylvania Company, he cut the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky, despite resistance from nearby Native American tribes. He founded Boonesborough, one of the first English-speaking settlements west of the Appalachians. By the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 people had followed his route into Kentucky. He was captured by the Shawnee in 1778, reportedly adopted by a chief and named Big Turtle, and later escaped. He served in the Revolutionary War, fought at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782, and moved to Missouri in 1799, where he spent much of his remaining life.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.