Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer and cartographer who lived during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is known for his expeditions to the New World, during which he explored the coast of South America. Vespucci's voyages and writings contributed to the early understanding of the geography of the Americas, and he is considered one of the first individuals to recognize that the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus were part of a new continent, rather than part of Asia. This realization led to the use of the name "America" in honor of Vespucci.