Events in Costa Rican History
Columbus Lands in Costa Rica
1502-09-18 Christopher Columbus lands at Costa Rica on his 4th & last voyage
- 1821-09-15 Act of Independence of Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua declare their independence from the Spanish Empire
- 1824-07-25 Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua.
- 1824-10-09 Slavery is abolished in Costa Rica
- 1856-04-11 Battle of Rivas; Costa Rica beats William Walker's invading Nicaraguans
- 1907-05-07 Central American Court of Justice inaugurated in San Jose, Costa Rica - first standing tribunal for International Law in the world [1]
- 1916-11-30 Costa Rica becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1919-06-04 US marines invade Costa Rica
- 1921-01-19 Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador sign Pact of Union
- 1921-03-05 The US warns Costa Rica and Panama to settle disputes peacefully
- 1922-01-29 Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador dissolved
- 1926-03-14 Train in Costa Rica falls into the Río Virilla, killing 248 and injuring 93
- 1948-06-19 Panama and Costa Rica recognize Israel
- 1949-10-11 Costa Rica abolishes its army (decree 249)
- 1949-11-09 Costa Rica adopts Constitution
Che Guevara Begins Road Trip
1953-07-07 Che Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador
- 1968-07-29 Mount Arenal, Costa Rica kills 80 in Pelee-type eruption
- 1978-06-10 Costa Rica becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
- 1982-02-07 Luis A Monge elected President of Costa Rica
- 1986-02-02 Oscar Arias Sanchez elected president of Costa Rica
- 1987-10-12 Oscar Arias (Costa Rican Pres) wins Nobel Peace Prize
- 1987-10-13 Costa Rican President Oscar Arias wins Nobel Peace Prize
- 1989-04-16 Costa Rica beats US 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup
- 1989-04-30 US beats Costa Rica 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup
- 1991-04-22 Earthquake strikes Costa Rica & Panama, kills 95
- 1994-02-06 Jose Maria Figueres elected President of Costa Rica
- 1994-05-08 Jose Maria Figueres becomes president of Costa Rica
- 2009-01-08 A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Costa Rica´s region of Volcan Poás, with an epicenter near Cinchona. It was caused by Varablanca-Angel fault.
- 2017-10-06 Storm Nate kills at least 22 people passing through Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras
- 2019-02-10 Number of women alleging sexual assault by former Costa Rica President Óscar Arias Sánchez grows to nine
- 2020-05-26 Costa Rica becomes the first county in Central America to legalize same-sex marriage
- 2022-04-04 Economist Rodrigo Chaves elected President of Costa Rica defeating current president José María Figueres [1]
- 2022-05-11 Costa Rica declares a state of emergency after a ransomware attack infiltrates and cripples several government agencies [1]
Famous People from Costa Rica
- 1826-04-08 Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (Costa Rica's first woman in the military), born in Cartago, Costa Rica (d. 1890)
- 1885-05-22 Julio Fonseca, Costa Rican composer, born in San José, Costa Rica (d. 1950)
- 1907-07-28 Earl Tupper, American-born Costa Rican inventor and businessman (Tupperware), born in Berlin, New Hampshire (d. 1983)
- 1916-08-24 Anita V Figueredo, American physician and humanitarian, born in Costa Rica (d. 2010)
- 1919-04-17 Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer, born in San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia Province, Costa Rica (d. 2012)
- 1922-02-06 Felicia Montealegre, Costa Rican-American actress (Studio One; Kraft Television Workshop), and social activist, born in San José, Costa Rica (d. 1978)
- 1924-11-26 Irwin Hoffman, American conductor (Vancouver Symphony, 1952-64; Chicago Symphony, 1964-70; Costa Rica National Symphony, 1987-2001), born in New York City (d. 2018)
- 1927-03-13 Charles Sickman Corsen, Dutch Antillean poet, born in Curacao, Costa Rica (d. 1994)
- 1940-09-13 Óscar Arias Sánchez, 40th & 45th President of Costa Rica (Nobel Peace Prize 1987), born in Heredia, Costa Rica
- 1941-12-06 John Nelson, American conductor (Berlioz's Les Troyens), born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1943-05-22 Edgar Marín, Costa Rican soccer striker (32 caps; Saprissa, Oakland Clippers, Kansas City Spurs), born in Pueblo Nuevo, Costa Rica (d. 2023)
- 1950-04-05 Franklin Chang-Diaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American NASA astronaut (STS 61C, 34,46,60,75, sk:91), born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1953-08-19 Luis Muñoz, Costa Rican jazz percussionist, composer, and bandleader, born in San Jose, Costa Rica
- 1955-09-10 Giannina Facio Franco, Mrs Phillipe Junot, born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1959-11-07 Alexandre Guimarães, Costa Rican football player and manager, born in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
- 1963-08-13 Elizabeth Bourland, Costa Rican sharp shooter, US 3x20 rifle (Olympic 7th 1996)
- 1968-11-06 Javier Astúa, Costa Rican soccer forward (13 caps; Puntarenas FC), and manager (Puntarenas FC), born in Quepos, Costa Rica (d. 2022)
- 1970-11-08 José Francisco Porras, Costa Rican footballer, born in Grecia, Costa Rica
- 1972-12-24 Alvaro Mesen, Costa Rican footballer, born in Alajuela, Costa Rica
- 1974-08-10 Luis Marín, Costa Rican footballer, born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1974-10-06 Walter Centeno, Costa Rican footballer, born in Palmar Sur, Costa Rica
- 1975-01-24 Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer, born in Punta Arenas, Costa Rica
- 1975-09-07 Harold Wallace, Costa Rican footballer, born in Heredia, Costa Rica
- 1975-09-18 "Habacuc" Guillermo Vargas, Costa Rican artist
- 1976-07-31 Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer
- 1976-09-08 Gerald Drummond, Costa Rican footballer, born in Limón, Costa Rica
- 1976-09-08 Jervis Drummond, Costa Rican footballer, born in Limón, Costa Rica
- 1977-08-08 Kurt Bernard, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977-08-23 Douglas Sequeira, Costa Rican footballer, born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1977-12-31 Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican soccer goalkeeper (5 caps; LDA Alajuelense 154 games), born in Alajuela, Costa Rica
- 1979-10-01 Gilberto Martínez, Costa Rican soccer defender (61 caps; Brescia), born in Golfito, Costa Rica
- 1979-11-07 Danny Fonseca, Costa Rican soccer midfielder (28 caps; Cartaginés 537 games), born in Cartago, Costa Rica
- 1980-04-15 Victor Núñez, Costa Rican footballer
- 1980-11-21 Leonardo González, Costa Rican footballer
- 1981-12-30 Michael Rodríguez, Costa Rican footballer
- 1982-03-25 Álvaro Saborío, Costa Rican footballer
- 1982-04-09 Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer, born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1982-04-28 Harry Shum Jr. Costa Rican actor (Glee, Shadowhunters), born in Limón, Costa Rica
- 1982-07-16 Michael Umaña, Costa Rican footballer (Pars Jonoubi), born in Santa Ana, Costa Rica
- 1984-05-17 Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer, born in Hatillo, Costa Rica
- 1984-06-30 Gabriel Badilla, Costa Rican footballer, born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1984-12-30 Randall Azofeifa, Costa Rican footballer
- 1985-08-08 Brayan Ruiz, Costa Rican football player
- 1986-12-15 Keylor Navas, Costa Rican soccer goalkeeper (100 caps 2021; Lavante UD, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain), born in Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica