Amerigo Vespucci is the undisputed leader among the medieval map makers in the world. He is well known as the man after whom America was named.
Amerigo Vespucci was born in the year 1454. He was a voracious reader and used to collect maps and books. He went to Spain in the year 1492 for some work. In Spain he started to work on ships. The first expedition of his life happened in the year 1499. He reached the mouth of River Amazon and also explored the South American coast. He calculated how far he had moved towards the west by observing the conjunction of the heavenly bodies of Moon and Mars.
In the year 1501, Amerigo Vespucci went on his second voyage with the Portuguese flag. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sailed along the coast of South America. On this voyage, Vespucci wrote two letters to his friend. In these letters, he described his travel experiences which make the letters very interesting and very valuable.
Amerigo Vespucci was the first person to realize that the landmass of the New World of South and North America was separate from the landmass of Asia. Vespucci also went on a third voyage to the New World following which he died in the year 1512.
