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Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. He began sailing when he was only 15 years old.
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When he set sail for the expedition, he was given three ships by the city of Palos.
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He set sail in August of 1492. It was 35 days before a sailor spotted land.
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The names of the three ships were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
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His crew consisted of 90 men.
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The goal of the expedition was to chart a western sea route to India and China, as well as to the islands in Asia with spices and gold.
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When Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, he was the first European since the 10th century to have the opportunity to explore the Americas.
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The Santa Maria did not make the return trip to Spain because it ran aground on Christmas Day. 40 men had to stay behind because there was no room on the other two ships. They stayed behind on the island Hispaniola.
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Christopher Columbus made the voyage to the New World three times.
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He died when he was 55, in 1506, only two years after his last trip to the New World.
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Nobody is sure where he is buried as he was reburied many times in different places around the world.
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Nobody is sure what he looked like, as there are no portraits known to exist.
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President Roosevelt made Columbus Day a national holiday in 1934.
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In 1971, the date October 12th no longer marked the holiday. It was changed to the second Monday in October. This is also the Canadian Thanksgiving, which was fixed in 1959).
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South Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii do not recognize Columbus Day.
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In Latin America they call this day Día de la Raza; in the Bahamas they call it Discovery Day; in Spain they call it Fiesta Nacional and Día de la Hispanidad; in Argentina they call it Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural; in Belize they call it Day of the Americas, and in Uruguay they call it Day of the Americas.
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In Puerto Rico, Columbus Day is celebrated along with Puerto Rico Friendship Day.
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In Virginia, Columbus Day is celebrated along with Yorktown Victory Day.
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Because Christopher Columbus was Italian, Italian-Americans celebrate Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage.
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Depending on where you live in the United States, you may see parades to celebrate the holiday. In most states, the children have the day off school.
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New York City has the largest parade.
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