In elementary school many of us were taught (usually as a mind-reminder for a test): “In 1492 Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue.” Well, in fact, Christopher Columbus sailed many oceans blue for longer than just a year – but it was on October 12 in 1492 that he actually arrived in the Americas.
Interestingly, in those days there were no navigational tools save the sextant and the stars (it would be hundreds of years later until scientists, explorers and watchmakers would come together to solve the problem of longitude with the chronometer). It is most likely he tracked time at sea via a sundial, and by the 15th century sundials were portable and often included a built-in compass. Essentially a sundial tells time by the movement of the shadow that a pointer casts on a dial that marks the hours of the day. The shadow moves as the Earth rotates and the sun changes position in the sky.
While Columbus had some longitudes wrong, he was able to harness the Trade Winds for his safe sails and returns across the Atlantic — settling colonies in North and South America. Still, it was his first landing that begets this more-than-500-year-old significant date in history wherein we celebrate Columbus Day as an official holiday — commemorating our "discovery." However, it was not the official Americas discovery. The Nordic explorers (Leif Erickson) had already visited the already-inhabited lands. Still, Columbus got credit and the day became – eventually – a national holiday not just in America but also in other countries around the world.
In the Bahamas, Columbus Day is recognized as Discovery Day, and in Spain and Italy it is also celebrated as Fiesta Nacional or Festa Nazionale di Cristopher Columbus. Argentina, Belize and Uruguay also celebrate – and many have done so unofficially since the colonial days. In the United States, it did not become a federal holiday until 1937. Interestingly enough, Hawaii (and a few other states for various reasons) does not recognize Columbus Day. Hawaii for instance celebrates the day as Discoverers’ Day – and commemorates the Polynesian discovery of the Hawaiian Islands – but it is not a legal holiday.
While Columbus was born in Genoa, now part of Italy, he sailed under the auspices of Spain and completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. It was his belief that he could reach the East Indies (hoping to open a new route for spice trade with Asia) by sailing westward. During his first voyage he landed not in Japan as expected, but in the Bahamas archipelago – on the island he named San Salvador. An astute navigator, Columbus focused his efforts on building permanent settlements for Spain. Throughout his ensuing voyages, he visited Central America, the Caribbean and the coast of Venezuela, claiming them all for the Spanish Empire. While Columbus was not the first explorer to land in the Americas, he was the first to bring lasting communication between the Americas and Europe.
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