Juan Ponce de León

Ponce de León, Juan (c.14060–1521), Spanish discoverer of Florida. He sailed with Christopher Columbus in 1493, and in 1508 he conquered Puerto Rico and became its governor. Leading an expedition, possibly to find the mythical Fountain of Youth, he discovered and named Florida in 1513, but when he attempted to colonize it in 1521, he was driven off and mortally wounded by Indians.

See also: Florida.