525 Yrs. Ago (In History)

The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus.
His name in Italian is Cristoforo Colombo and in Spanish it is Cristóbal Colón.
Text from Wikipedia, image from HISTORY's e-mail. No credit given.

On this day in 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing near the Dominican Republic, sees three “mermaids”–in reality manatees–and describes them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted.” Six months earlier, Columbus (1451-1506) set off from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, hoping to find a western trade route to Asia. Instead, his voyage, the first of four he would make, led him to the Americas, or “New World.”

Geeze, wotta maroon.