#TBT: Born April 16, 1866, José de Diego y Martínez was a Puerto Rican statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later for independence from the United States. He passed away on July 16, 1918.

#TBT: On July 9, 1944, the Battle of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands ended, 24 days after the amphibious assault was launched by the United States against Japan during World War II. The capture of Saipan forced the Japanese government to inform its citizens that the war was not going well.

#TBT: Tui Manuʻa Elisala was the last Tui Manu'a titleholder (paramount chief) in the Manuʻa Islands in present-day American Samoa, which expanded to become the Tui Manuʻa Confederacy. Before he died on July 2, 1909, he expressed the wish that the title die with him.

#TBT: On June 25, 2019, the US Virgin Islands passed a law targeting oxybenzone, octocrylene, and octinoxate, three UV-blocking chemicals found in most mainstream commercial sunscreen products in the United States, because studies have shown they harm coral and other marine ecosystems.

#TBT: Operation Stevedore was the operation for the American recapture of the then Japanese-held island of Guam during World War II, originally scheduled for June 18, 1944. Intense fighting in nearby Saipan caused the landings to be delayed by a month until July 21 of that year.

#TBT: Among the versions of the origin of Puerto Rico's flag design is that the idea of inverting the colors of the Cuban flag came to Antonio Vélez Alvarado, who wrote: "the colors appeared inverted before my eyes ... on June 11, 1890 or 1891." He was a journalist, politician, and revolutionary.

#TBT: A "Satan", an M3 Stuart tank with a Ronson flamethrower, incinerates a Japanese pillbox during the Battle of Saipan in June 1944.

#TBT: On May 28, 2022, the ACLU filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the 10th Circuit's ruling in Fitisemanu v. United States, which denied birthright citizenship to American Samoans, and to overrule the Insular Cases once and for all. The court declined to hear the case.

#TBT: On May 21, 2020, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. advised US Virgin Islands residents to stay at home and all non-essential businesses to close as the COVID-19 pandemic began.

#TBT: Typhoon Pamela was a powerful typhoon that struck the U.S. territory of Guam in May 1976, causing about $500 million in damage. The sixth named storm and third typhoon of the 1976 Pacific typhoon season, Pamela, developed on May 14 from a trough in the Federated States of Micronesia.

#TBT: On May 7, 1998, NBC aired a Seinfeld episode with the Puerto Rico flag being burned and stomped on. After protests, NBC apologized and pulled it from syndication. Manuel Mirabal of the National Puerto Rican Coalition called the situation unacceptable. The episode resurfaced on Netflix in 2023.

#TBT: On April 30, German Consul Max Biermann reported from American Samoa to Leo von Caprivi (the Chancellor of the German Empire) in 1894 that wars among Samoan factions had halted the copra trade, disrupted food production, and forced islanders to rely on German plantations for survival.

#TBT: Ahyi seamount, a shallow submarine volcano in the Northern Mariana Islands, began erupting on April 23, 2014. Throughout the 2-week-long eruption, Ahyi produced several thousand underwater explosions.

#TBT: Sailors and guests pose for a photo during the grand opening ceremony of the Navy Recruiting Station American Samoa in Pago Pago, American Samoa, on April 16, 2025. The event was during American Samoa Navy Week, one of 15 Navy Weeks during the Navy’s 250th year celebration.

#TBT: Archibald Alphonso Alexander was an American architect and engineer. He was appointed Governor of the United States Virgin Islands by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 9, 1954, being the first Republican governor there since the establishment of the civil government.

Today is #LocalNewsDay! Pasquines is a Founding Newsroom—covering Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, so nearly 4 million American citizens are never left out of the conversation. Support us today → pasquines.us/donate-now

#TBT: Pedro Calungsod was a Catholic Filipino-Visayan migrant, sacristan, and missionary catechist who, along with the Spanish Jesuit missionary Diego Luis de San Vitores, proselytized and forcefully converted the indigenous people of Guam, which led to both being martyred on April 2, 1672.

#TBT: The Intentona de Yauco of 1897 was the second and final revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. It was staged by the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico. On March 26, a group headed by Jose Nicolas Quiñones Torres and Ramon Torres fought Spanish colonial forces but were overcome.

#TBT: Colonel Leafaina Yahn, commander, 404th Army Field Support Brigade, stands with then American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono on March 19, 2012. Tulafono invited Yahn to speak as part of a Women's History Month ceremony.

#TBT: On March 12, 1976, James M. Frey, assistant director for legislative reference of the Office of Management and Budget, asked federal departments for their views on HJ Resolution 549, to approve the covenant for the Northern Mariana Islands, garnering positive responses like this one.

#TBT: On March 5, 2024, Jason Palmer got his only win in the Democratic Presidential Primary in American Samoa, receiving more votes than Joe Biden. Both, however, ended up getting 3 delegates.

#TBT: The Fifth Constitutional Convention of the US Virgin Islands passed a proposed constitution, sent to President Barack Obama, who submitted it to the US Congress on February 26, 2010. Disagreements over sovereignty, legal advantages, and the bill of rights led to the draft's rejection.

#TBT: The Malaspina Expedition was a five-year maritime scientific exploration commanded by Alejandro Malaspina and José de Bustamante y Guerra, which crossed the Talofofo River, which is the largest and longest river on Guam, on February 19, 1792.

#TBT: An electrical fire at the Monacillos substation in Puerto Rico knocked out power to 400,000 people on February 12, 2018. It resulted in the loss of 400 megawatts of power generation.

#TBT: Severe Tropical Cyclone Ofa was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in Polynesia in February 1990. Cyclone Ofa affected American Samoa between February 3 and 5 with wind gusts of up to 100 mph, which caused widespread and extensive damage to the territory.

#TBT: On January 29, 2008, the Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program reported sustained, elevated seismic tremor levels at Anatahan volcano in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is one of the most active volcanoes of the archipelago.

#TBT: On January 22, 2021, NOAA announced researchers had identified a new record-size coral colony at Ta’u Island in American Samoa, even larger than the island’s Big Momma colony, one of the largest in the world. More than 80 of these exceptionally large corals are scattered around the island.

#TBT: William Henry Hastie Jr. was a United States Virgin Islands public official and civil rights advocate. On January 15, 1943, he resigned as civilian aide to the US Secretary of War to protest segregation and discrimination. He later became the first African American governor of the USVI.

#TBT: William Gilmer was a United States Navy Captain who served as both the 22nd and 24th Naval Governor of Guam. His administration proved controversial because of the control he exercised over the activities of the island. He outlawed alcohol, smoking, and whistling. He died on January 8, 1955.

Manuia le Tausaga Fou! Wishing American Samoa a happy new year as the last United States jurisdiction to welcome 2026.