Gonçalo Álvares was a Portuguese explorer who actively participated in the age of discovery starting from the second voyage of Diogo Cão.

In 1497 he commanded the ship São Gabriel

São Gabriel (ship)

The São Gabriel was the flagship of Vasco da Gama's armada on his first voyage to India in 1497-1499.-São Gabriel:The São Gabriel was a Portuguese "nau" that, like its sister ship, the São Rafael, was built specifically for the expedition; both exhibited similar construction...

in the epic journey of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...

 to India's and in 1505 aboard the fleet of Francisco de Almeida

Francisco de Almeida

Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...

 - the first Viceroy of Portuguese India - he sailed south in the Atlantic to where "water and even wine froze" discovering an island named after him, later renamed Gough Island

Gough Island

Gough Island , also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares or Diego Alvarez, is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha...

by the British, who took its possession in the nineteenth century.

Gonçalo Álvares held the office of chief-pilot of the navigation to India and the Ocean Sea until his death in 1524.