Juan Ponce de León (c. 1460 ? July 1521Webster's Biographical Dictionary, 1st edition, 1961, G & C. Merriam Co., p. 1200. Ponce de León's year of birth is uncertain.) was a Spanish conquistador. He was born in Santervás de Campos (Valladolid). As a young man he joined the war to conquer Granada, the last Moorish state on the Iberian peninsula. Ponce de León accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish Crown. He is also notable for his voyage to Florida, the first known European excursion there, as well as for being associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth which is said to be in Florida. Arrival in the New World It is thought that Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer, first landed on the site where Cockburn Town is, on Grand Turk in the Turks & Caicos Islands but soon settled in Hispaniola. He helped conque

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS