April 2

On this day, April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Fonce de León cited the land that

will later become Florida. Sailing under the Spanish crown, he named the

region La Florida, marking the first recorded European arrival on the Florida

Peninsula. Also on this day, in 1792, Congress passed the Coenage Act, establishing the United States

Mint and creating a standardized national currency. Also on this day, in 2005, Pope John

Paul II died after serving more than 26 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.