Who Was Alive

Were Christopher Columbus and Erasmus alive at the same time?

Yes. Christopher Columbus and Erasmus were alive at the same time for 39 years, from 1466 to 1506.

Christopher Columbus was 14 or 15 when Erasmus was born.

Erasmus was 39 when Christopher Columbus died, aged 54 or 55.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator, explorer, and colonist

Born 1451 · died 20 May 1506, aged 54 or 55

Erasmus

Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and theologian

Born 28 October 1466 · died 12 July 1536, aged 69

  1. Christopher Columbus
  2. Leonardo da Vinci
  3. Erasmus
  4. Niccolò Machiavelli
  5. Nicolaus Copernicus
  6. Michelangelo
  7. Martin Luther
Christopher Columbus and Erasmus in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.