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Christopher Columbus (Genoa, Italy 1451 – May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain) was an Italian navigator and maritime explorer credited as the discoverer of the Americas. Even though the Norse Vikings had arrived centuries before Columbus, Columbus is recognized as the first person to successfully establish European culture in America. It is generally believed that he was born in Genoa, although other theories and possibilities exist. The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicization of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Also well known are his name's rendering in Italian as Cristoforo Colombo and in Castilian Spanish as Cristóbal Colón.