Columbus’s illegitimate son who wrote his biography was Ferdinand Columbus, also known as Hernando Colón. Born in Córdoba in 1488, he was the son of Christopher Columbus and Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, whom Christopher never married.
Ferdinand received an excellent court education after his father’s return from the first voyage. He studied subjects including Latin, theology, history, philosophy, and music, and later became a bibliographer, cosmographer, and important book collector. His intellectual background helped him preserve and promote his father’s reputation.
Ferdinand wrote a Spanish biography of Christopher Columbus, generally known in English as The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus. The work was later translated into Italian and published after Ferdinand’s death. Historians use it as an important source, although it reflects the family’s perspective and sometimes presents Christopher in a favorable light.
Ferdinand had a brother named Diego from Christopher’s earlier marriage, which explains why several other names can appear in accounts of the Columbus family. Ferdinand himself never inherited Christopher’s principal titles; those passed mainly to Diego, the older legitimate son.