A YouGov poll of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted Oct. 6 – 11, 2021, finds a major generational gap in knowledge and attitudes toward Columbus, the Italian explorer who arrived by ship to islands in the Caribbean in 1492.
The share of American adults under 30 who view Columbus unfavorably narrowly exceeds the share who view him favorably, while his favorability with older Americans is much higher. Columbus’s favorability among young adults has declined since we asked the same question in 2014.
Perhaps an even more striking contrast is in awareness: 13% of Americans ages 18 to 29 say they haven’t heard of Columbus, compared to just 1% of Americans 45 and over.
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