Biography hispanic americans
Famous Latinos and Latinas
From fighting for justice to being groundbreaking thinkers, artists, athletes, and more, Latinas and Latinos have been breaking boundaries in the United States for centuries. Check out the information below to learn more about famous Latinos and Latinas, from actors to activists.
Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta
Instrumental in the Civil Rights movement, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta were leaders in the fight against the unfair treatment of farm workers in the United States. In 1962, they founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later merged with other unions to become the United Farm Workers of America.
Xiuhtezcatl Martínez Through forms of art and music, Xiuhtezcatl Martínez fights for his communities and grows the conversation around climate, racial, and economic justice.
Sylvia Rivera
A Puerto Rican-Venezuelan activist, Sylvia Rivera was a loud voice in the fight for gay and transgender communities. She criticized racism and economic exclusion within the LGBT community.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Miranda is an award-winning composer, playwright, and actor known for being the creator and original star of Broadway’s Tony-winning musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.” He continues to be a leader in the entertainment industry through his involvement in projects such as Disney’s “Moana” and “Encanto.” Miranda remains active in his efforts to increase the representation of people of color.
Roberto ClementeRoberto Clemente Walker played 18 seasons as a right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates and was selected to play in every All-Star Game from 1960 until his death, except for the 1968 season when he was suffering from shoulder problems. Born in Puerto Rico, he became the first Latino American Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. Outside of baseball, Clemente was known for his humanitarian efforts. In 1972, he died in a plane crash while bringing earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua. I Latino history in the Americas stretches back for many centuries before the arrival of European colonizers. The long, rich, and complex history begins with the diverse Indigenous populations, such as the Inca civilization. The gradual combination of unique cultures and traditions throughout Latino history has profoundly influenced and enriched the identity of the United States. When the Korean War broke out, Hispanic-Americans again answered the call to duty as they, their brothers, cousins, and friends had done in World War II. Many of the Hispanic Soldiers who fought in Korea were members of the all-Hispanic U.S. Army unit, the 65th Infantry Regiment, which fought in every major campaign of the war. The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers," originated from the Borinquen -- one of the native Taino indian names for the island of Puerto Rico. Many members of the 65th were direct descendants of that tribe. One of the first opportunities the regiment had to prove its combat worthiness arose on the eve of the Korean War during Operation PORTREX, one of the largest military exercises up until that point, where the regiment distinguished itself by repelling an offensive consisting of more than 32,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and the U.S. Marine Corps, supported by the Navy and Air Force, thereby demonstrating that the regiment could hold its own against some of the best-trained forces in the U.S. military. On Aug. 25, 1950, two months into the Korean War, with the U.S. Army's situation in Korea deteriorating, the Department of the Army's headquarters decided to bolster the 3rd Infantry Division, and owing in part to the 65th Infantry Regiment's outstanding performance during Operation PORTREX, it was among the units selected for the combat assignment. The decision to send the regiment to Korea and attach it to the 3rd Infantry Division was a landmark change in the U.S. military's racial and ethnic policy. Fighting as a segregated unit from 1950 to 1952, the regiment participated in some of the fiercest battles of the war, and its toughness, courage and loyalty earned the admiration of many who had previously harbored reservations about Puerto Rican Soldiers based on lack of previous fighting experience and negative stereotypes, including Brig. Gen. William W. Harris The history of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States is wide-ranging, spanning more than four hundred years of American colonial and post-colonial history. Hispanics (whether criollo, mulatto, afro-mestizo or mestizo) became the first American citizens in the newly acquired Southwest territory after the Mexican–American War, and remained a majority in several states until the 20th century. As late as 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War, Spain held claim to roughly half of today's continental United States. In the Treaty of Paris France ceded Louisiana (New France) to Spain from 1763 until it was returned in 1800 by the Treaty of San Ildefonso. In 1775, Spanish ships reached Alaska. From 1819 to 1848, the United States and its army increased the nation's area by roughly a third at Spanish and Mexican expense, gaining among others three of today's four most populous states: California, Texas and Florida. The first confirmed landing in the continental United States was by a Spaniard, Juan Ponce de León, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened La Florida. Within three decades of Ponce de León's landing, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. Spanish ships sailed along the East Coast, penetrating to present-day Bangor, Maine, and up the Pacific Coast as far as Oregon. From 1528 to 1536, four castaways from a Spanish expedition, including a "black" Moor, Estevanico, journeyed all the way from Florida to the Gulf of California, 267 years before Lewis and Clark embarked on their much more renowned and far less arduous trek. In 1540 Hernando de Soto undertook an extensive exploration of the present US, developing expeditions in Georgia, The Caroli
Latino History
In the late 1400s, Spanish colonists arrived and forcefully claimed the lands of numerous Indigenous populations across the region, including the Pueblo, Aztec, and Maya civilizations. These interactions and intermixing of cultures created the foundation of diverse Latino ancestry and heritage that has contributed to the multicultural development of the United States.
Prior to European colonization, each Indigenous civilization had distinct traditions, beliefs, and social structures. The violence of colonization had a deep impact on these communities. Many had no choice but to live under colonial control and were weakened by new diseases brought by the colonists, like smallpox, measles, and influenza.
At the same time, Africans and their descendants were enslaved throughout the Americas. When possible, they resisted and fled to escape slavery, sometimes alongside Indigenous peoples. Together, they worked to remake societies, which resulted in a mix of cultures and traditions.
Learn about the consequences of Spanish and other European colonization.
The Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War have also had a large impact on Latino history. The Mexican-American War resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which granted the United States a significant amount of new territory, including the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, and most of New Mexico and Arizona. Many of the Mexicans living in those areas at the time became citizens of the United States. However, many longtime Mexican inhabitants experienced hardships after
1850
Korean War
1950-1953
History of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
Spanish expeditions
Spanish expeditions that took place in the South and East of North America