science · 15 May 1482 · 542 years ago
death
Died 15 May 1482 (born 1397).
Italian physician and mapmaker, interested in astronomy and observer of comets. His lone claim to fame, however, was his mistaken belief that Asia lay three thousand miles west of Europe. He drew a map showing these two continents on each side of the Atlantic Ocean. This is the map that started Columbus thinking about making his voyage.
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