Born c. 1450,
Genoa, ltaly
Died c. 1499,
Possibly in Newfoundland

Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) was born in the Italian port city of Genoa. In 1476 he was granted citizenship in Venice, which at the time was the major trading center for all the Mediterranean region. Cabot worked as a merchant and navigator, and it is thought that from 1490 to 1493 he lived in the Spanish city of Valencia. There is speculation that he may have been in Valencia in April 1493, the month when Christopher Columbus (see entry) traveled through the city on his way to report to the king and queen of Spain about his successful voyage to America.

Search for the Northwest Passage

Columbus had, in fact, announced he found a new route to Asia, not a new landmass. Cabot was skeptical of this claim, concluding the distance was much greater than that traveled by Columbus. Instead, he...