EXPLORER

Juan Ponce de León

1460 - 1521

Photo of Juan Ponce de León

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Juan Ponce de León (c. 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in 1474. Though little is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Juan Ponce de León has received more than 4,592,081 page views. His biography is available in 61 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 60 in 2019). Juan Ponce de León is the 37th most popular explorer (down from 35th in 2019), the 116th most popular biography from Spain (down from 102nd in 2019) and the 5th most popular Spanish Explorer.

Juan Ponce de León is most famous for being the first European to reach Florida. He was also the first governor of Puerto Rico.

Memorability Metrics

  • 4.6M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 72.51

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 61

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.68

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.91

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, Juan Ponce de León ranks 37 out of 498. Before him are Pytheas, John Cabot, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Evliya Çelebi, Henry Morton Stanley, and Ingólfr Arnarson. After him are Francisco de Orellana, Thorfinn Karlsefni, William Baffin, Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Richard E. Byrd, and Frederick de Houtman.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1460, Juan Ponce de León ranks 2. Before him is Vasco da Gama. After him are Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, Johann Tetzel, Tristão da Cunha, Lorenzo Costa, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, Bartholomew Columbus, Andrea Solari, Juan de la Cosa, Konstanty Ostrogski, and Tilman Riemenschneider. Among people deceased in 1521, Juan Ponce de León ranks 5. Before him are Ferdinand Magellan, Pope Leo X, Manuel I of Portugal, and Josquin des Prez. After him are Zhengde Emperor, Sebastian Brant, Christina of Saxony, Leonardo Loredan, Francisco Serrão, Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon, and Raffaele Riario.

Others Born in 1460

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Others Deceased in 1521

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In Spain

Among people born in Spain, Juan Ponce de León ranks 116 out of 3,355. Before him are Seneca the Elder (-54), Antipope Benedict XIII (1328), Joaquín Rodrigo (1901), Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566), Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545), and Peter of Castile (1334). After him are Manuel Azaña (1880), Alfonso V of Aragon (1396), Margaret Theresa of Spain (1651), Pablo de Sarasate (1844), Miguel de Unamuno (1864), and Javier Solana (1942).

Others born in Spain

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Among EXPLORERS In Spain

Among explorers born in Spain, Juan Ponce de León ranks 5. Before him are Hernán Cortés (1485), Francisco Pizarro (1478), Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476), and Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475). After him are Francisco de Orellana (1511), Diego de Almagro (1475), Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (1460), Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (1465), Alonso de Ojeda (1466), Hernando de Soto (1500), and Lope de Aguirre (1518).

Spanish born Explorers

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