(RNN) – "In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He had three ships and left from Spain, he sailed through sunshine, wind and rain," wrote Winifred Sackville Stoner Jr. in the poem The History of the U.S.
Monday is Columbus Day, a day where many are sleeping in, attending parades, shopping and enjoying good Italian cuisine.
To some, it's just another excuse for a day off work, but the people who are grumbling at those sleeping in tend to care a little less about the holiday. So instead of being bitter, here are a list of dates, facts and digits to give you a look at Columbus Day by the numbers.
1451: Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy.
1492: Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered ‘The New World.'
15: Age he became a sailor.
3: Number of ships the city of Palos gave Columbus – The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.
2: The number of ships that made the return trip. The Santa Maria ran aground and had to be abandoned.
35: The number of days it took for the first sailor to spot land.
1506: The year Columbus died.
1992: The 500th anniversary was celebrated.
1504: Christopher Columbus stopped sailing the ocean blue after three voyages.
1843: 400 years after his first voyage, Columbus' likeness was placed on a U.S. postage stamp.
1792: The first monument for Columbus was erected on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the discovery in Baltimore, MD.
17: Number of ships used during the second voyage.
90: Men set sail with Columbus during his first voyage.
40: The number of men Columbus left behind on the island of Hispaniola because there was no room on the two remaining ships.
2004: The year supporters of Hugo Chavez destroyed a 100-year old statue of Columbus in Caracas, Venezuela.
1937: Year Columbus Day was declared a national holiday.
2: Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October.
3780: The approximate distance in miles from Portugal to Bavaro at the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is on the island of Hispaniola, where Columbus is thought to have first landed.
1892: President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage with patriotic festivities.
1971: Originally observed every Oct. 12, it was this year Columbus Day was fixed to be celebrated the second Monday in October.
19: Opposition to Columbus Day dates back to the 19th century, when anti-immigrant groups in the United States rejected the holiday because of its association with Catholicism.
1502: Columbus reached Central America on his third voyage.
23: Number of people who testified against him, charging him with atrocities and cruelty while he was governor of the colony Hispaniola.
0: Number of paintings based on what he actually looks likes.
13: Number of places in the U.S. named after Christopher Columbus. (Columbia, MD, Columbia, MO, Columbia SC, Columbus, GA, Columbus, IN, Columbus, MS, Columbus, WI, Columbus, OH, District of Columbia, Colombian County, OH, Colombian, OH, Columbia County, PA and Columbus Circle, NY.)
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Columbia, MD, Columbia, MO, Columbia SC, Columbus, GA,
Columbus, IN, Columbus, MS, Columbus, WI, Columbus, OH, District of Columbia,
Colombian County, OH, Colombian, OH, Columbia County, PA and Columbus Circle,
NY.
Monday marks the 519th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of 'The New World.' (Source: Wikipedia)
