Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was a Spanish-Italian Navigator, born between August 25th and October 31st, 1451 in the seaport city of Genoa, Italy. His father was a wool weaver and at the age of 14, Christopher Columbus began a seafaring career. Between voyages, Christopher Columbus kept busy with the making and selling of charts and maps. As a young student of natural science as a seafarer, Columbus was fascinated by Marco Polo's travels to Asia in 1275. Columbus was sent to Asia to gather spices and silk. Columbus had to make a choice to go to the Asia by sailing west instead of est, to get the spi