Who was Amerigo Vespucci?

Those who wonder how America got its name inevitably run into Amerigo Vespucci. Who was he? And why are we named after him - and not Christopher Columbus, who got here well before Vespucci did?

To read up on Mr. Vespucci, follow this link to a great article by Roger Saunders, the Feature Writer-Editor for American History over at Suite101.com.

Want something a little different? Check out this homemade school project video on Vespucci by clicking here. It's not exactly fully accurate, but...it's kind of neat.

For a biographical essay on Vespucci, click here.

You can also check out what Wikipedia has to say about Mr. Vespucci by clicking here.