Christopher Columbus was born in 1452 in Genoa, Italy. He belonged to a middle-class family and used to help his father run his cheese outlet. He studied at the Prince Henry's School of Navigation in Portugal.

He had light colored eyes and ruddy hair. However, paradoxically, there is no genuine visual rendering of this great discoverer.

Christopher Columbus is famous for discovering the American continents. He was a voyager, a traveler and a pioneer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and exposed the American continents to the rest of the world. He was also one of the factors responsible for the launch an alliance between the local Americans and the Europeans.

In 1480, Columbus and his brother planned to take a trip to the Indies that enclosed South and East Asia, after sailing a cross the Atlantic Ocean (then known as the Ocean Sea).

The King of Spain was ready to finance his plans as Columbus' mission was to find a way to Asia, and the king wanted Spain to be on top of all European countries.

He started his first expedition on August 3, 1492 from Palos De La Frontera with one ship and two caravels. In this trip he discovered the Bahamas and other parts of Cuba and Hispaniola and was back in Spain on March 15, 1493.

His second trip began in September, 1493, where he left the Canary Islands with over 1000 men on 17 ships. He discovered many islands during this trip. Also, he framed a strategy called genocide during this time.

His third voyage commenced in May,1498, during which he discovered the Gulf of Paria and went to the Chacachacare and Margarita Islands.

His final expedition was undertaken to find the Strait of Malacca, during which he and his brother had to face many natural catastrophes and were marooned in Jamaica for an entire year. He was back in Spain in November, 1504.

Columbus became religious as he grew older. Till he died, he assumed that he had toured across Asia. On May 20, 1506, he passed away. He was suffering from Reiter's Syndrome. He'll be remembered for introducing the United States of America.