Today in History October 12th. COLUMBUS REACHES THE NEW WORLD: October 12, 1492 After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. Little is known of his early life, but he worked as a seaman and then a maritime entrepreneur. He became obsessed with the possibility of pioneering a western sea route to Cathay (China), India, and the gold and spice islands of Asia. At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus' day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. Isidore in the seventh century. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world's size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed).With only the Atlantic Ocean, he thought, lying between Europe and the riches of the East Indies, Columbus met with King John II of Portugal and tried to persuade him to back his "Enterprise of the Indies," as he called his plan. He was rebuffed and went to Spain, where he was also rejected at least twice by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. However, after the Spanish conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Granada in January 1492, the Spanish monarchs, flush with victory, agreed to support his voyage.On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Niña. On October 12, the expedition reached land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas. Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men. The explorer returned to Spain with gold, spices, and "Indian" captives in March 1493 and was received with the highest honors by the Spanish court. He was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century.During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainlands, but he never accomplished his original goal--a western ocean route to the great cities of Asia. Columbus died in Spain in 1506 without realizing the great scope of what he did achieve: He had discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MORE GENERAL INTEREST 1810 The origin of Oktoberfest 1915 British nurse executed in WWI 1945 Conscientious objector wins Medal of Honor 1964 USSR leads the space race 2000 USS Cole attacked by terrorists historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=general&month=10272962&day=10272977 AUTOMOTIVE 1993 Toyota's one-millionth Camry historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=automotive&month=10272962&day=10272977 CIVIL WAR 1870 Robert E. Lee dies historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=civil&month=10272962&day=10272977 COLD WAR 1960 Nikita Khrushchev throws a tantrum at the United Nations historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=coldwar&month=10272962&day=10272977 CRIME 1998 The victim of an anti-gay assault dies historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=crime&month=10272962&day=10272977 ENTERTAINMENT 1938 Production starts on The Wizard of Oz historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=entertainment&month=10272962&day=10272977 LITERARY 1912 Actress, playwright, novelist Alice Childress is born historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=literary&month=10272962&day=10272977 OLD WEST 1940 The Cowboy actor Tom Mix dies in an Arizona car accident historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=oldwest&month=10272962&day=10272977 VIETNAM WAR 1972 Racial violence breaks out aboard U.S. Navy ships historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=vietnamwar&month=10272962&day=10272977 WALL STREET 1837 Congress Fails to Calm Panic historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=wallstreet&month=10272962&day=10272977 WORLD WAR II 1946 Gen. Joseph Stilwell dies historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=worldwarii&month=10272962&day=10272977