Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. His parents were a wool merchant and weaver. Columbus started sailing at the age of 14.
In 1470, he was involved in a shipwreck off the coast of Portugal. He managed to swim ashore and settled there briefly. Later, he moved to Spain.
His discovery of America was a combination of pure accident, his big ego and the fact that he grossly underestimated the distance between Europe and the East Indies. He had estimated the distance at 2,500 miles. The distance was actually 10,000 miles.
On August 3rd, 1492, he set sail at the age of 46. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, of Spain, financed the trip. They were hoping he would bring back spices from the East Indies.
Columbus had no idea that there was a huge landmass between Europe and the East Indies. After being at sea for two months, he landed on an island in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492.
He was greeted by the Arawak Indians after he landed. Unfortunately, they had no spices, gold or anything worth bringing back to Spain.
Columbus was very disappointed, but he continued to sail. Over a 9 year period, he made 3 more voyages and he was credited for discovering Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad and the mouth of the Orinoco River on the South American mainland. On his 4th and final voyage, he made it down to the Isthmus of Panama.
After he returned to Spain in 1504, Queen Isabella died. Without her, he had no means of support. Two years later, Columbus died in poverty.
The first Columbus Day celebration took place in New York City on the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt officially proclaimed every October 12th as Columbus Day. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law making the second Monday in October a federal holiday.
