October 12 is officially Columbus Day. I hope you enjoyed it, and maybe even thought a little bit about Christopher Columbus! Columbus was a gifted sailor, mapmaker, navigator, and astronomer. One of his foremost characteristics was being persistent. He was decided that he could find a way across the oceans to sail East by going West.
He devised a plan and prepared a presentation to obtain funding. He first presented this plan to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. It was rejected. With dogged determination he went to Portugal and laid out his plans to the King. It was rejected. He moved on to France and showed the possibilities to their Monarch. It was rejected. He traveled to England and made another attempt to convince someone to support his ideas. It was rejected.