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Yesterday was Columbus Day in the United States. How tall was this genocidal monster, Christopher Columbus? There are no portraits in existence from when he was alive, so we have to go by written accounts. His illegitimate son Ferdinand describes him as follows:

The Admiral was a well-built man of more than medium stature, long visaged with cheeks somewhat high, but neither fat nor thin. He had an aquiline nose and his eyes were light in color; his complexion too was light, but kindling to a vivid red. In youth his hair was blond, but when he came to his thirtieth year it all turned white. [Morison 1942: 44]

This description is pretty much corroborated by other equally reliable sources with a few minor discrepancies. Nevertheless, there is agreement that he was "taller than the average" and "his form was tall, above the medium." Also, you can see in this picture that Columbus was as big as a boat. (I stole this picture from the internet, but I think it is legal.)

So, shorties, love him or hate him, he wasn't one of us.

For further reading: http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/admiral.html