Carolyn Kay Green, aged 9, of Wichita, Kansas for her question:

How old was Columbus when he discovered America?

He was born in Genoa, ancient seaport of Italy. We do not know the exact day of the year. But it was sometime in the late summer or early fall of 1451. He was baptized Christoforo Columbo. He was renamed Christopher Columbus years later by the English speaking people who followed him to the New World.

Now, as everyone knows, he landed on Watlings Island on October 12, 1492. This day of the year must have been very close to his own birthday. If he was born before October 12, he was still forty years of age when he made the great discovery. Chances are, he had just passed his forty‑first birthday;

It would be wonderful to think that Columbus discovered a New World on his own birthday. But we cannot be sure. The only records show that he was born in late summer or early fall. In any case, October 12 is not too far away from his birthday.