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Show Soanish Town Claims Home of Columbus A campaign races In Taris to show that an Arab discovered America 400 years earlier than Columbus. This agitation has not prevented a fourth town from claiming the distinction of being the great Christopher's birthplace. birth-place. This latest claimant Is the small Spanish Galllclan community of Pontevedra. It is preparing to put up a monument commemorating itself as Columbus' home town. Pontevedra's action has excited the rival Columbus birthplaces. Genoa, Calvi, Colos, none will admit the competency com-petency of the evidence on which the others have their claims, and all make light of Pontevedra. The French press- may seek to destroy the glory of the man whom a Corsican historian named "the inventor of America" but the four towns argue on. Colos, In Portugal, contains a whole library on the subject of where Columbus Colum-bus was born. Not only does It hold that Columbus first saw the light of day in that tiny village In the province of Alentejo (the country of the poet Caroens), but also that, Genoa to the contrary, he studied for his subsequent subse-quent nautical calling in the Portuguese Portu-guese kingdom, and offered his services serv-ices to the king ot Spain only after they had been refused by Juan II of Portugal. The general opinion seems to be that, since Homer had no less than seven birthplaces, (according to the best authorities the towns themselves), them-selves), no one can call four excessive for a man like Christopher Columbus. New editions of the encyclopedias reassert that Genoa was his birthplace. The Americana says he was "born In Genoa probably in 1451." It records that he first offered to go on his event- j ful voyage for Juan II of Portugal, and that he "also sent letters to Henry II of England, with the same ill success." suc-cess." Nelson's (English) Encyclopedia Encyclo-pedia records that the "discoverer of the new world was. born in the neighborhood neigh-borhood of Genoa and went to sea at fourteen," and was for a time In Portuguese Portu-guese maritime se:rvlce. The New International In-ternational Encyclopedia says he, "the discoverer of America, was born in Genoa." But he married at Lisbon and there his son, Diego, was born. The Britannica records that he was "the eldest son of omenico Colombo and Suzanna Fontsinarossa and was bom at Genoa about 1446 or in 1451." Nfew York Times. |