Today we take for granted that the world
is round. In the fifteenth century, however,
most people believed the world was flat.
They thought that monsters or a trip over
the edge of the earth waited for anybody
who sailed outside the limits of known territory.
People laughed at or jailed others who dared
think that the world was in the shape of
a globe. There were educated persons, however,
who reasoned that the world must be round.
An Italian named Christopher Columbus was
bold enough to push this notion, and ask
for money to explore the seas, and find
what he thought would be the other hemisphere
of the earth. Portugal, Italy and England
refused to support such a venture.
Few celebrations marked the discovery
until hundreds of years later. The continent
was not even named after Columbus, but
an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci.
In 1792, a ceremony was held in New York
honoring Columbus, and a monument was
dedicated to him. Soon after that, the
city of Washington was officially named
the District of Columbia and became the
capital of the United States. In 1892,
a statue of Columbus was raised at the
beginning of Columbus Avenue in New York
City. At the Columbian Exposition held
in Chicago that year, replicas of Columbus's
three ships were displayed.
Americans might not have a Columbus Day
if Christopher Columbus had not been born
in Italy. Out of pride for their native
son, the Italian population of New York
City organized the first celebration of
the discovery of America on October 12,
1866. The next year, more Italian organizations
in other cities held banquets, parades
and dances on that date. In 1869, when
Italians of San Francisco celebrated October
12, they called it Columbus Day.
In 1905, Colorado became the first state
to observe a Columbus Day. Over the next
few decades other states followed. In
1937, then - President Franklin Roosevelt
proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus
Day. Since 1971, it has been celebrated
on the second Monday in October , Chicago
will be hosting it 51st annual parade
Columbus Day on the same day.
