Christopher Columbus May 2026

Born between August and October 1451 in the Republic of Genoa (now Italy).

Went to sea at age 14, eventually traveling as far as the British Isles, Iceland, and West Africa. Christopher Columbus

Although born in Genoa, his career was defined by his service to the Spanish Crown under Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II. The Four Voyages Born between August and October 1451 in the

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer whose 1492 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, sponsored by Spain, initiated the first lasting European contact with the Americas. While he is historically credited with "discovering" the New World, he never realized he had reached a new continent, dying in 1506 with the firm belief that he had reached the outskirts of Asia. His expeditions launched an era of European exploration and colonization that fundamentally reshaped global history through the —the massive transfer of plants, animals, culture, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds. Quick Facts & Origins The Four Voyages Christopher Columbus was an Italian

His first fleet consisted of the Santa María (a larger carrack) and two smaller caravels, the Pinta and the Niña .

Columbus completed four round-trip voyages between Spain and the Americas: