Events in Ponce History
Caparra Founded
1508-08-08 Spaniard Juan Ponce de León founds Caparra the first European settlement in Puerto Rico
- 1513-03-27 Spaniard Juan Ponce de León and his expedition first sight Florida
- 1513-04-02 Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida
- 1898-07-28 Spanish American War: U.S. Army occupies Ponce and declares victory in Puerto Rico over Spanish forces
- 1958-02-02 WRIK (now WLUZ) TV channel 7 in Ponce, PR (PTC) begins broadcasting
- 1970-04-15 WPSJ TV channel 14 in Ponce, PR ([P]) begins broadcasting
Famous People from Ponce
- 1891-09-12 Pedro Albizu Campos, Advocate for Puerto Rican independence, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 1965)
- 1904-02-17 Luis A. Ferré, Puerto Rican industrialist and politician (Governor of Puerto Rico, 1969-73), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2003)
- 1919-05-23 Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer ("Cuando Vuelvas" - "When You Return"), and politician (Senate-at-large, 1973-81), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2012)
- 1921-10-01 Héctor Campos Parsi, Puerto Rican classical music composer, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 1997)
- 1928-02-17 Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress (La Divina Infiel; The Shadow of the Bat), and singer ("Es tarde ya" (It's Too Late Now)), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2013)
- 1932-03-09 Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican astrologist and actor, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2019)
- 1936-05-03 José Torres, Puerto Rican boxer (world light-heavyweight champion), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2009)
- 1936-09-09 Carlos Ortiz, Puerto Rican boxer (World Light Welterweight Champion 1959-60; World Lightweight Champion 1962-65, 65-68), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2022)
- 1937-09-17 Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican Baseball HOF first baseman (11 × MLB All-Star; World Series & NL MVP 1967 St. Louis Cardinals; NL Rookie of the Year 1958 SF Giants), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2024) [1]
- 1946-09-30 Héctor Lavoe [Pérez], Puerto Rican salsa singer, born in Machuelo Abajo, Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 1993)
- 1951-05-07 Carlos Alomar, Puerto Rican-American guitarist, composer, and arranger (David Bowie, 1974-80, 1983-87), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- 1957-04-09 Ednita Nazario, Puerto Rican Latin pop and rock singer, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- 1965-03-09 Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- 1970-11-05 Javy López, Puerto Rican baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1997, 98, 2003; World Series 1995; NLCS MVP 1996; Silver Slugger Award 2003 Atlanta Braves), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Famous Puerto Ricans
Ángel Cordero Jr.
Bad Bunny
Chi-Chi Rodríguez
Daddy Yankee
José Ferrer
Luis Miguel