On This Day In History: Explorer Of The New World Amerigo Vespucci Born – On Mar 9, 1451

AncientPages.com - Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence on March 9, 1451. He was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator, and cartographer. He played a prominent role in exploring the New World as he demonstrated that the New World was not Asia but an unknown new continent.

On This Day In History: Explorer Of The New World Amerigo Vespucci Born – On Mar 9, 1451

Statue of Vespucci outside the Uffizi in Florence, Italy. Image Jebulon - CC0 1.0

Vespucci was the first to include the names of North America and South America as distinct continents previously unknown to Europeans, Asians, and Africans. The term 'America' derives from the Latin version of the first name of  Amerigo Vespucci.

The name of Amerigo Vespucci was immortalized by Martin Waldseemuller, who printed the first map that used the name America for the New World

Amerigo Vespucci, inspired by the successful voyages of Columbus, sailed with three ships in May of 1497. Sailing west, Vespucci landed in either Guiana or Brazil for a little more than a month and may have entered the Gulf of Mexico and sailed along the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

He later sailed to the New World on three more occasions and explored a large portion of the coasts of both North and South America. The first two voyages were under the direction of Spain, and the last two as a Portuguese expedition.

As a young man, he studied physics, geometry, astronomy, and cosmography, where he excelled. In 1504, a book of maps gave the name of the New World - 'America.' The author argued that since the three known continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa, were all associated with women, it was proper to give the new continent a woman's name, too.

America's name was chosen after the baptismal name of Vespucci.

Vespucci died of malaria in Seville on February 22, 1512. He contracted malaria during his explorations of South America.

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