Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus, a Genoese navigator sailing under Castilian patronage, made the first permanent European contact with the Americas when he landed in the Bahamas on 12 October 1492. His four voyages inaugurated the sustained European engagement with the Americas, though he died insisting he had reached Asia. His voyages set in motion the Columbian Exchange and three centuries of Iberian colonialism.
- Lived: 1451 CE – 1506 CE
- Nationality: genoese
- Roles: navigator, explorer, governor
