Salute the Latino legends, pioneers, and trailblazers! Celebrate the Hispanic milestones, accomplishments, and victories!
An inspiring exploration of groundbreaking individuals and pioneering events, Latino Firsts: Trailblazers and Milestones in United States History honors the an indelible mark Hispanics have made on American history and society. Featured are brigadier general Richard E. Cavazos, Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral, actress America Ferrera, playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Francisco Ayala, artist Jen-Michel Basquiat, weightlifter Sarah Elizabeth Robles, and more than a thousand other notable people and accomplishments, such as …
Astronaut Frank Rubio (1975-) set he American record for the longest spaceflight of 371 days aboard the International Space StationOscar Muñoz CEO of United Airlines; Roberto Goizueta, CEO of Coca-ColaSpanish-born philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) was the first Latino philosopher and writer to receive a Ph.D. from HarvardFashion designers Oscar de la Renta and Carolina HerreraFilm director/producer Eva Longoria was named USA Today’s Women of the Year in 2024Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to set up settlements in Alaska and Canada’s Pacific Coast, at least twelve of themCattle and ranching first introduced to Hawaii by Hispanic cowboys from the SouthwestThe first admiral of the US Navy, David Farragut, was the son of a Spaniard and a US Revolutionary War heroSpanish immigrant Rafael Guastavino, architect and designer, whose landmark designs include Grand Central Station, Carnegie Hall, the old Penn Station, and the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMany US laws are based on Hispanic-Mexican law, including family law (community property, common-law marriage, homestead law, adoption law) and water and land rights lawsThe recent changing of names for military bases from Confederate soldiers has resulted in the naming of Fort HidalgoBefore slavery was abolished in the United States, Latinos in Florida and Texas operated extensive “underground railroads” assisting escaped slaves to reach freedom in Hispanic Florida, Texas and MexicoHernandez v. Texas, a 1964 Supreme Court case brought by Mexican American attorneys that desegregated juries, was a precedent for Brown v. Board of EducationAstronaut Ellen Ochoa later served as the Director of NASA’s John Space CenterLatinos from the Caribbean and Mexico introduced the cotton, cattle and sugar industries to the United StatesVirologist/bacteriologist Sarah Stewart, the first woman, and Latina, to earn a medical degree from Georgetown University Medical School, whose research showed that viruses can cause various types of cancerCarlos Juan Finlay, a Cuban doctor educated in Philadelphia, who discovered that yellow fever was spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquitobaseball players such as Roberto Clemente, considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time and Alex Rodriguez, the highest paid ballplayer at the timemultiple Oscar winners, including Anthony Quinn and Rita MorenoAnd thousands of other milestones and firsts!
Milestones, victories and success are not always noticed when they happen. Sometimes an achievement is only recognized years later. Revel and rejoice in the renowned and lesser-known, barrier-breaking trailblazers in all fields—arts, entertainment, business, civil rights,
