How old was Columbus on his first voyage?

Christopher Columbus was born on October 31, 1451. His first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a westward route to Asia commenced on August 3, 1492. To calculate his age at the start of this voyage, we subtract his birth year from the year when the voyage began: 1492 - 1451 = 41 years. Therefore, Christopher Columbus was 41 years old when he set out on his first voyage.

Christopher Columbus is widely known for his voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that eventually led to the European awareness and exploration of the Americas, although Vikings such as Leif Eriksson had reached North America earlier, and indigenous peoples had been living there for millennia. Columbus's voyages are often considered a key event in history that marked the beginning of widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. Columbus himself did not realize that he had reached a new continent; he thought he had found a new route to Asia. It wasn't until later expeditions that the European explorers began to understand that they had encountered a landmass previously unknown to Europeans. Columbus's voyages had profound effects on both Europe and the Americas, and they had numerous long-term consequences including the Columbian exchange, bringing new plants, animals, and cultures between the Old and New Worlds.