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Years of poor crops, hurricanes, and other calamities pushed agricultural laborers to the brink, leading to the October 1,1878 Fireburn. Frederiksted and other parts of St. Croix went up in flames on the only day of the year laborers were allowed to sign new work contracts.

Silver medalist in sailing (Finn class) at the 1988 Olympics.

A Tortola-born Quaker, Richard Humphreys’ 1837 bequest of $10,000 funded the US’s first black college, now Cheney University in Pennsylvania.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Tortola on February 23, 1966 and again on October 26, 1977, riding in a motorcade through the island’s streets. The late Princess Margaret visited on March 8, 1972.

The first black man to receive Britain’s Victoria Cross, this Tortola native fought in the 1866 Ashanti wars.

In their first attempt to gain freedom, slaves used cane knives to attack the Danish garrison at Coral Bay. They subsequently held the island’s planters hostage for six months, killing many of them. The siege ended with help from French soldiers based in Martinique.

Born April 25, 1976, the St. Croix native plays basketball for the San Antonio Spurs.

After years of negotiations, Denmark sold St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix to the US for $25 million. The Danish flag came down to make way for the Stars and Stripes on March 31, 1917.

Laurance Rockefeller bought up many acres of St. John land and donated them to the federal government in an act of foresight that has helped preserve St. John’s natural environment. The park, and Rockefeller’s posh Caneel Bay Resort (seeCaneel Bay Resort, St. John), opened December 1, 1956.

The Jost Van Dyke-born Thornton designed the US Capitol building in 1792–93.