Date: January 4th, 2010 1:05 PM Author: Histrionic frozen school cafeteria death wish
Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454 – February 22, 1512) was an Italian explorer, navigator and cartographer. The continent of America is popularly believed to have derived its name from the feminized Latin version of his first name.[1]
Date: January 4th, 2010 1:11 PM Author: emerald glittery roommate indian lodge
It's not entirely clear that America is named after Amerigo Vespuci. One of the reasons it's not convincing that it was is that countries were never named after somebody's Christian name, unless they were royal, like Prince Edward Island or Victoria. But otherwise, it's Cook Islands, Magellan Straits. It's always the surname.
Based on that notion some have suggested that America is named after Richard Ameryk. John Cabot, who was the first European to set foot on what we now consider mainland United States, was commissioned by Ameryk, who probably had his name on the map, and it would have been known as Ameryk's Land, and then America.