In episode 55 of Half True History, Dan Parrella tells Pedro Lima and Chris Crespo about how Cristoforo Colombo de Genoa became Christopher Columbus and how, despite being bad at his various jobs and also a rapist and murderer, he got his own holiday in America thanks to the tireless work starting with the Italian immigrants of the 1880s leading all the way up to FDR declaring Columbus Day as a full on holiday, and what that meant socially for Italians in America. Plus Dan has a few ideas for famous Italians who could replace Columbus.
Related Episodes
Half True History – #63 – What was Italian Unification?
Half True History – #41 – What is The Plague?
The Devil’s In The Details – #13 – Back From Christmas Break
The Devil’s in the Details – #17 – What is the Chicago World’s Fair?
The Devil’s in the Details – #18 – What is Piracy?
The Devil’s In The Details – #2 – Substitutes