Cristoffa Corombo was born in the Republic of Genoa (now in Italy) in 1451. He began his career as a seaman in the Portuguese merchant marine. Later, in Spain, he was known as Christóbal Colón.
We know him as Christopher Columbus, and he is generally given credit for discovering America. In A.D. 1000, almost 500 years before Columbus’s first voyage, Viking Leif Ericson became the first European to land in the New World, in Newfoundland, Canada. But Columbus gets most of the credit because his discoveries in 1492 had immediate and wide dissemination. Despite earlier rumors, valid evidence of the Viking voyages did not surface until the 20th century. On his second voyage, Columbus established La Isabela, the first permanent settlement in the New World.
In grade school most of us learned this ditty:
In fourteen hundred ninety two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
And he did. A student once wrote, “Columbus discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic on the Niña, the Pintacolada and the Santa Fe.” Close enough.
On his first voyage, he sighted the Bahamas and made land on Hispaniola (now containing the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Columbus never saw North America. He did explore part of the eastern coastline of South America on his third voyage in 1498–1500 and on his fourth and final voyage in 1502–1504. Columbus never realized that he had sailed to the New World. He died in 1506, blissfully certain that he had reached Asia.
During his four voyages, was Columbus afraid of falling off the edge of the flat Earth? No, astronomers as far back as the ancient Greeks knew that the Earth was round. Pythagoras (c. 570 B.C.– 495 B.C.) was the first.
Columbus Day is a holiday that commemorates the famous explorer’s arrival, on Oct. 12, 1492, in the New World. The holiday was first officially celebrated across the United States in 1937. Columbus Day boat races are a common way the holiday is celebrated in many parts of the United States. Most schools close for Columbus Day, as do government offices and banks, while most businesses remain open. Now that you’ve had your history lesson, explore these Columbus Day riddles:
What bus was able to get to America by sea?
Colum-bus.
How do we know that Columbus was the best deal-maker in history?
He left not knowing where he was going. When he got there, he didn’t know where he was. When he returned, he didn’t know where he’d been. And he did it all on borrowed money.
How did King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella pay for Columbus’s voyages?
With their Discover card.
What do the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria have in common with a department store?
They’re all driven by sails (sales).
How do we know that Columbus’s ships got the best gas mileage in history?
They got three thousand miles per galleon.
What would you get if you crossed Oct. 12 with Halloween?
Ghoulumbus Day.
Why are Columbus Day parades never longer than two miles?
Because the marchers are afraid that if they go farther, they’ll fall off the edge of the Earth.