UNT Dallas Library: Hispanic &amp; Latin American Studies: Key Historical Figures

Key Figures in Activism & Civil Rights

Cesar Chavez (Labor Leader & Social Reformer)
Dolores Huerta (Activist & Labor Leader)
Emma González (Activist & Gun Control Advocate)
A survivor of the February 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Ralph Lazo (Voluntary Prisoner)
Sylvia Mendez (Child Advocate for School Desegregation)
Sylvia Rivera (Activist)

Key Figures in Art

Key Figures in Literature & Journalism

Key Figures in Politics & Government

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (U.S. Representative)
Bill Richardson (Fmr. Governor, U.S. Congressman & U.S. Ambassador)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fmr. U.S. Representative)
Joseph M. Hernandez (Fmr. Brigadier General & U.S. Congressman)
First Hispanic elected to the U.S. Congress.
Marco Rubio (U.S. Senator)
Melquiades Martinez (Fmr. U.S Senator & H.U.D. Secretary
Nydia Velazquez (U.S. Representative)
Octaviano Larrazolo (Fmr. U.S. Senator & Governor)
First Hispanic elected to the U.S. Senate.
Robert Menéndez (U.S. Senator)
Sonia Sotomayor (Associate Justice of U.S. Supreme Court)
First Hispanic and third woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Key Figures in Music

Carlos Santana (Guitarist)
Celia Cruz (Jazz Singer)
Christina Aguilera (Singer)
Demi Lovato (Singer & Actress)
Desi Arnaz (Musician & Actor)
The first major Latino television star.
Gloria Estefan (Singer)
Jennifer Lopez (Singer, Dancer & Actress)
Joan Baez (Singer, Songwriter & Activist)
Linda Ronstadt (Singer)
Marc Anthony (Singer, Songwriter & Actor)
Marques Houston (Singer & Actor)
Pitbull (Rapper, Singer, Songwriter, Producer)
Richie Valens
The first Latino rock-and-roll star.
Ricky Martin (Singer)
Sammy Davis, Jr. (Singer, Dancer, Actor, & Impersonator)
Selena Quintanilla
Known as the 'Queen of Tejano Music'.
Tito Puente (Musician)
Ruben Blades (Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter)

Key Figures in Science

Antonia Novello (U.S. Surgeon General)
The first Hispanic and first woman to serve as United States surgeon general.
Carlos Noriega (Astronaut)
Ellen Ochoa (Astronaut)
The first Latina to become an astronaut
France Cordova (Astrophysicist)
Became the youngest person and first woman named chief scientist at NASA
Franklin Chang-Diaz (Astronaut)
The first Hispanic astronaut
Helen Rodriguez-Trias (Physician & Activist)
First Latina president of the American Public Health Association
Luis Walter Alvarez (Physicist)
Mario Molina (Scientist, Chemist)
Severo Ochoa (Biochemist)

Key Figures in Sports

Key Figures in the U.S. Military

Angel Mendez (U.S. Marine)
Navy Cross Recipient
Carmen Contreras-Bozak (U.S. Army)
The first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps.
Christina M. Alvarado (U.S. Navy)
The first nurse to command Naval Reserve Expeditionary Medical Facility “Dallas One”, the first nurse of Hispanic heritage to be selected to the rank of rear admiral (one star) in the Nurse Corps and the first Hispanic female to achieve the rank of Rear Admiral Upper Half (two star).
David Glasgow Farragut (U.S. Navy)
The first officer given the rank of admiral in the United States Navy.
Guy Gabaldon (U.S. Marines)
Harold Gonsalves (U.S. Marines)
The only Latino Marine to earn the Medal of Honor during World War II.
Horacio Rivero, Jr. (U.S. Navy)
The first Puerto Rican and Hispanic four-star admiral, and the second Hispanic to hold that rank in the modern United States Navy, after the American Civil War Admiral David Glasgow Farragut.
Joe P. Martínez (U.S. Army)
The first Medal of Honor awarded to a Hispanic American in World War II.
Kathlene Contres (U.S. Navy)
The highest-ranking Hispanic-American woman officer in the U.S. Navy until her retirement in 2010 after 30 years of service.
Loreta Janeta Velazquez
Known for disguising herself as a man and served as a Confederate officer and spy during the American Civil War.
Louis Caldera (U.S. Army)
Former U.S. Secretary of the Army
Ramona M. Valdez (U.S. Marine)
Richard Cavazos (U.S. Army)
The first Latino brigadier general in the U.S. Army, and the first Latino to be promoted to the rank of four-star general.