Christopher Columbus (Spanish: Crist ó bal Col ó n; Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, about 1451-1506, May 20) was born in the medieval Republic of Genoa (now northwest Italy). Italian explorer and navigator, one of the major figures in the great navigation era, is the pioneer of the great geographical discovery.

On Columbus's first voyage in 1492, he landed at a place in the Bahamas called "San Salvador", not Japan as planned. In the following three voyages, Columbus reached the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, Venezuela on the Caribbean coast, and Central America, and declared them the territory of the Spanish Empire. Columbus died on May 20, 1506.

Columbus's navigation brought the first continuous contact between Europe and America, and ushered in a great era of European exploration and colonization of overseas territories that continued for several centuries. These had an immeasurable impact on the historical development of the modern western world.