Amerigo Vespucci

America, not India
Amerigo Vespucci was in Florence, Italy in 1451 where he was educated and later worked for the rich Medicis. Vespucci sailed for Spain with Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. He was the first person form Europe to see Brazil and travel in the mouth of the Amazon. He also traveled again in 1501, and explored the coast of South America. After this, Vespucci was sure that what  Christopher Columbus had found was not Asia, but a continent in between. He also calculated a number close to the circumference of the earth. Due to these achievemnets, he was recognized as a great explorer, and his name was tied to the continents. Eventually a mapmaker, called the continents "from Amerigo the discoverer" and they began to be called the Americas.

Works Cited:

Blue, Rose and Nade, Corine J. Exploring South America. Chicago, Illinois.: Raintree, 2004  pgs. 6-9