53 Million Americans Claim German Heritage

Did you know that it was a German who gave America its name? The cartographer Martin Waldseemüller (1470-1520) was the first to draw the New World as a continent on his map Universalis cosmographia, part of which you see on your right, calling it "America" after Amerigo Vespucci, whom Waldseemüller thought to be the real discoverer of America.

But that was by far not the only footprint that Germans left in America. Since the arrival of a German botanist in the Jamestown in 1608, German immigrants and their descendants have made an indelible imprint on this country.  Today, some 43 million Americans claim German heritage.  Read more here (from the German Information Service) about how Germany and German immigrants have left their mark on American culture (think beer, brats, and, oh, yes, Christmas).