text: how did christopher columbus discover america? what happend when he got there? im doing a report on him. christopher columbus (october 30, 1451? – 20 may 1506) was an explorer and trader, who crossed the atlantic ocean and reached the americas on october 12, 1492 under the flag of castile. history places great significance on his landing in america in 1492, with the entire period of the history of the americas before this date usually known as pre-columbian, and the anniversary of this event, columbus day, being celebrated in many parts of america. although there is evidence of pre-columbian trans-atlantic ocean european contact, columbus is commonly credited as the first european to see the americas because of the profound impact his contact wrought on history. his voyage marked the beginning of european exploration and colonization of the americas.  it is generally assumed he was genoese. however there is no solid evidence of this and historians claim he could have been born in other places, from the crown of aragón to the kingdoms of galicia or portugal, or in the greek island of chios, among others. his birthname is also unknown; see the section on columbus' national origin for a discussion of his origin and names.   check the rest of the link for more info.