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Born in Nevis but raised in St. Croix, Hamilton became the first secretary of the US Treasury in 1789.

The St. Croix-born Benjamin co-authored the 1952 musical hit, “Wheel of Fortune.”

A major French Impressionist painter, Pissarro (1830–1903) was born in St. Thomas.

Sailing through in 1493 on his second trip to the New World, Columbus stopped at Salt River, St. Croix, to skirmish with the Carib Indians. The many islands he saw prompted him to name the archipelago after St. Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins.

Both territories suffered massive devastation when Hurricane Hugo hit on September 17 and 18, 1989 and Marilyn on September 15 and 16, 1995. Other hurricanes in the late 1990s caused further damage, prompting strengthening of the infrastructure against future catastrophes.

While the region witnesses frequent minor earthquakes, none were as disastrous as the one that hit in November 18, 1867. A huge tsunami emptied the harbor in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, leaving fish lying on the ocean floor. It then surged back, killing many people who had gone out to collect the fish.

Played baseball, mainly for the Baltimore Orioles (1968–79).

After Great Britain set the stage by outlawing slavery in 1808 and then seized a number of slave-carrying ships in BVI waters, this British colony finally freed its slaves on August 1, 1834. The former slaves continued life as paid laborers.

Rioting slaves marched on Frederiksted, St. Croix, in 1848, forcing Danish Governor Peter Von Scholten to declare from the ramparts of Fort Frederik that “All unfree in the Danish West Indies are from today emancipated.” His decree also included St. Thomas and St. John.

This fighter born in 1938 holds professional boxing titles.