Who's Who in Medieval History
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Amerigo Vespucci was also known as:
Amerigo Vespucci was known for:
Occupations:
Places of Residence and Influence:
Important Dates:
Second Expedition sets sail: May 13 , 1501
Second Expedition returns: July 22 , 1502
Died: Feb. 22, 1512
Quotations from Amerigo Vespucci:
"The manner of their living is very barbarous, because they do not eat at fixed times, but as often as they please.""Those new regions which we found and explored with the fleet... we may rightly call a New World... a continent more densely peopled and abounding in animals than our Europe or Asia or Africa; and, in addition, a climate milder than in any other region known to us."
About Amerigo Vespucci:
Raised and educated in Florence, Amerigo Vespucci was a merchant and navigator who sailed to the new world on two (perhaps even three) occasions, sailing for Spain and for Portugal. He made his most significant scientific contribution to the Age of Discovery when, through astronomical observations off the coast of South America, he confirmed that the lands Columbus had encountered were not Asia but were in fact an entirely separate continent. The letters Vespucci wrote describing his travels were published and widely distributed in Europe.
Vespucci owes the use of his name for two continents to the German clergyman and scholar Martin Waldseemüller, who had read of Amerigo's travels and chose to call the new lands "America" in his honor when printing a wood-block map.
For more about Amerigo Vespucci, visit the Concise Biography by your Guide.
More Amerigo Vespucci Resources:
Image of Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci in Print
Amerigo Vespucci on the Web
At About
Amerigo Vespucci
An introduction to Vespucci is followed by an explanation of how two continents came to be named after him, by About.com Guide to Geography Matt Rosenberg.
Exploration, Expansion & Discovery
Medieval Italy
Medieval Iberia
Who's Who Directories:
