Chrisopher Columbus: A Short Biography

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Christopher Columbus was not trying to prove that the earth was round. People already knew the earth was round. He was trying to find an alternative way to India for trade. He planned to sail across the Atlantic from Europe to Asia, but the world was bigger than Columbus thought.

It is not know exactly when Christopher Columbus was born, but most scholars have concurred that he was born sometime between August and October of 1451 in Genoa. Before being translated into English, his name in Italian is “Cristoforo Colombo.”

He was one of the many children of Domenico Colombo, a wool-weaver and a merchant, and Suzanna Fontanarossa, who was the daughter of a wool-weaver. He was the oldest of the five children in his familly and was always closest to his younger brother Bartolommeo. On of his other brothers, Giovanni Pellegrino, died as a very young boy, and his youngest brother, Giacomo, was seventeen years younger than him.

There is no record about Columbus’ education but there are definite clues suggesting that he was very well learned. He had learned many languages such as Latin...

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