Northeast Florida's rich cultural history shows roots among the European, African, Asian and Hispanic communities. It is this diversity that defines the region today.

1513 - Don Juan Ponce de Leon of Spain landed in Northeast Florida in search of the fabled Fountain of Youth.

1562 - Jean Ribault, a French explorer, arrived in present day Jacksonville and met with the native Timucuan Indians.

1564 - With the help of the Timucuan Indians, the French Huguenots established Fort Caroline, the first attempt of a permanent colony, at the mouth of what is now known as the St. Johns River.

1565 - St. Augustine was formed by the Spanish. An army of Spaniards, led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, moved north and destroyed the French colony and renamed it Fort San Mateo. Black slaves were brought from Africa to Florida to labor for the Spaniards.

1683 - The first militia company formed of black troops who supplemented the Spanish of St. Augustine was recorded.

1693 - The Spanish king freed all Catholic-converted slaves.

1738 - Francisco Menendez founded Garcia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, later known simply as Fort Mose, as the first legal settlement for blacks in North America.

1796 - General Jorge Biassou-Caudillo, leader of the Black Auxiliaries of Carlos IV in Santo Domingo found exile here.

1817 - Zephaniah Kingsley, who married his Senegalese slave, purchased land on Fort George Island for Kingsley Plantation. He raised cotton, sugarcane and other cash crops that were shipped to Charleston, SC.

1820 - Chinese who helped build railroads in the west migrate east to Jacksonville.

1855 - Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was published in Boston. Much of writing was done while she wintered in the Mandarin neighborhood of Jacksonville.

1864 - Confederate troops defeated three black and six white regiments at the Battle of Olustee, near Macclenny. Among the black units were the 54th Massachusetts volunteers featured in the movie, Glory.

1865 - General William T. Sherman set aside 40 acres of tillable ground bordering the St. Johns River for black families from Charleston, SC, to South Florida.

1866 - The state's first historically black college and university, Edward Waters College was founded in Jacksonville.

1868 - Stanton High School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was established in Jacksonville as the first public school for black children.

1871 - Harlem Renaissance founder and civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville.

1882 - Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Fells Savage was born in Green Cove Springs.

1887 - Five African-Americans were elected to the Jacksonville City Council. Jacksonville renewed military activity at Camp Cuba Libra in historic Springfield.

1889 - Jacksonville raised A. Philip Randolph was born. He organized the first black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

1893 - Jose Marti rallied support in Jacksonville for the Cuban war of independence from Spain.

1895 - Cuban-born Gabriel Hidalgo Gato built El Modelo Cigar Manufacturing Co. With 15 cigar factories in Jacksonville, this Cuban enterprise was the city's second-largest industry.

1896 - During Cuba's fight for independence, Duval County Sheriff Napoleon Bonaparte Broward shipped munitions and Cuban expatriates to Cuba after being approached by members of the Jacksonville Cuban community to assist in the efforts. He later served as a state representative and the 19th governor of Florida.

1900 - James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson composed Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing. The poem is referred to as the black national anthem.

1935 - Black entrepreneur A.L. Lewis founded American Beach on Amelia Island as a haven for African Americans during segregation.

1950 - Filipinos, followed by Koreans, began arriving in Jacksonville.

1960 - Forty African Americans staged a demonstration in Downtown Jacksonville seeking access to "whites only" lunch counters. They were met by white men carrying axe handles and baseball bats that injured many and forced others to seek shelter at nearby Snyder Memorial Church. "Ax Handle Saturday" was a turning point in Jacksonville's civil rights movement.

1992 - Warren Jones became the first black Jacksonville City Council president elected for two terms.

1995 - Nathaniel Glover was elected as the first black Sheriff of the City of Jacksonville, and the second black Sheriff in the state of Florida.