Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León (1460-1521) was a Spanish nobleman, explorer and colonial governor. Looking for gold and a rumored "Fountain of Youth, he landed on the southeast coast of North America near present-day St. Augustine, Florida. He claimed the lands for Spain and named it La Florida (place of flowers). In 1521, on his second trip to Florida, he was wounded in an attack. The expedition returned to Cuba where he died in July 1521 from his wound.