Christopher Columbus [a] ( / k ə ˈ l ʌ m b ə s / ; [3] born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was an Italian [b] explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean , opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas . His expeditions, sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain , were the first European contact with the Caribbean , Central America , and South America . The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Scholars generally agree that Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa and spoke a dialect of Ligurian as his first language. He went to sea at a young age and travelled widely, as far north as the British Isles and as far south as what is now Ghana . He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo...
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