Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and with the islands of Saint John
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
, Saint Croix
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of...
, and Water Island
Water Island, U.S. Virgin Islands
Water Island was acquired by the USA in 1917 from Denmark but continued to be owned by a corporation until several decades later. Since 1996, it has formed part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a United States territory located in the Caribbean Sea. The island is of volcanic origin and lies to the...
a county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
and constituent district
Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands are administratively divided into 3 districts, which are subdivided into 20 subdistricts.The districts are:# Saint Croix# Saint Thomas# Saint John...
of the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
(USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of Charlotte Amalie. As of the 2010 census
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the population of Saint Thomas was 51,634 about 48.5% of the US Virgin Island total. The district has a land area of 31.24 square miles (80.9 km²).
Pre-colonial history
The island was originally settled around 1500 BC by the CiboneyCiboney
The Ciboney were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The name Ciboney derives from the indigenous Taíno people which means Cave Dwellers; evidence has shown that a number of the Ciboney people have lived in caves at some time. Over the years, many...
people. They were later replaced by the Arawaks and then the Caribs. Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
sighted the island in 1493 on his second voyage to the "New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
". The Caribs barely survived the first decades of contact with Europeans, either due to disease, deportation or slaying.
Danish colonial period
The Dutch West India CompanyDutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
established a post on Saint Thomas
Dutch Virgin Islands
The Dutch Virgin Islands is the collective name for the enclaves that the Dutch West India Company had in the Virgin Islands. The area was ruled by a director, whose seat was not permanent. The main reason for starting a colony here was that it lay strategically between the Dutch colonies in the...
in 1657. The first congregation was the St. Thomas Reformed Church which was established in 1660 and was associated with the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
. The Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
conquered the island in 1666, and by 1672 had established control over the entire island through the Danish West India and Guinea Company. The land was divided into plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s and sugar cane production became the primary economic activity. As a result the economies of Saint Thomas and neighboring islands of Saint John and Saint Croix became highly dependent on slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
labor and the slave trade. In 1685 the Brandenburgisch-Africanische Compagnie
German colonization of the Americas
The German colonization of the Americas consisted of failed attempts to settle Venezuela , St. Thomas, the Crab Island and Tertholen in the 16th and 17th centuries.-Klein-Venedig:...
took control of the slave trade on Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas (Brandenburg colony)
The Brandenburg colony of St. Thomas consisted of a leased part of the Danish island of St. Thomas - History :...
, and for some time the largest slave auctions in the world were held there. Saint Thomas was known for its fine natural harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
, known as "Taphus" for the drinking establishments located nearby. In 1691 the primary settlement there was renamed Charlotte Amalie in honor of the wife of Denmark's King Christian V
Christian V of Denmark
Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. It was later declared a free port
Free port
A free port or free zone , sometimes also called a bonded area is a port, port area or other area with relaxed jurisdiction with respect to the country of location...
by Frederick V
Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...
. In December 1732, the first two of many Moravian Brethren missionaries came from Herrnhut
Herrnhut
Herrnhut is a municipality in the district of Görlitz, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.It has access to Bundesstraße 178 between Löbau and Zittau...
Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
in present day Germany to minister to them. Distrusted at first by the white masters, they lived among the slaves and soon won their confidence. A small Jewish community was set up in Charlotte Amalie
Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands
-Education:St. Thomas-St. John School District serves the community. and Charlotte Amalie High School serve the area.-Gallery:-See also:* Anna's Retreat* Cruz Bay* Saint Thomas* Water Island-External links:* *...
and set up a historic synagogue Beracha Veshalom Vegmiluth Hasidim, the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the United States.
While the sugar trade had brought prosperity to the island's free citizens, by the early 19th century Saint Thomas was in decline. The continued export of sugar was threatened by hurricanes, drought, and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
competition. In 1848, slavery was abolished and the resulting rise in labour costs further weakened the position of Saint Thomas' sugar producers. Given its harbors and fortifications, Saint Thomas still retained a strategic importance, and thus in the 1860s the United States government considered buying the island and its neighbors from Denmark for $7.5 million, but failed to find domestic legislative support for the bid.
David Hamilton Jackson
As the islands were poorly managed by the Danish, a local islander, David Hamilton Jackson, was instrumental in persuading the Danish to allow the USA to purchase the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. In 1915, he traveled to Denmark and convinced the King of Denmark to allow freedom of the press in the islands. He began the first newspaper in the islands known as The Herald. After this, he organized labor unions among the islanders for better working conditions. The islands now have an annual celebration to honor the legacy of David Hamilton Jackson.American acquisition
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
and Saint Croix) by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for $25 million in gold, as part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The transfer occurred March 31, 1917 behind Fort Christian before the barracks which now house the Legislature of the U.S Virgin Islands. The baccalaureate service for the transfer was held at the St. Thomas Reformed Church as it was identified as the American church in the Danish West Indies.
John Morris, a U.S. Naval officer, designed the flag that now represents the United States Virgin Islands. Sparks married a local U.S Virgin Island woman, Grace Joseph Sparks; when Sparks' superior, Rear Adm. Summer Ely Wetmore Kitelle, commissioned the design for the flag, P.W. Sparks asked his wife and her sister, Blanche Joseph (later Sasso) to sew the first flag. That flag was used until such time as a factory produced flag could be acquired. The flag's inspiration came from the U.S. Presidential seal. Sparks decided to have the eagle facing the olive branches (which represented peace) rather than the arrows (which represented the three islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John). (At the request of the Sparks family, this piece of history was entered into the Congressional Record in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 1986, vol.132, No.56, by the congressional delegate, Ron de Lugo.) Every year Transfer Day
Transfer Day
Transfer Day is a holiday celebrated in the U.S. Virgin Islands on March 31. It marks the transfer of the islands from Denmark to the United States that took place in 1917. The year of 2007 marked the 90th anniversary of the acquisition of the islands....
is recognized as a holiday which celebrates the acquisition of the islands by the United States in 1917.
U.S. citizenship was granted to the residents in 1927. The U.S. Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
took over administrative duties in 1931. American forces were based on the island during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1954, passage of the U.S. Virgin Islands Organic Act officially granted territorial status to the three islands, and allowed for the formation of a local senate with politics dominated by the American Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
parties. Full home rule
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
was achieved in 1970.
The post-war era also saw the rise of tourism on the island. With relatively cheap air travel and the American embargo
Embargo
An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...
on Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the numbers of visitors greatly increased. Despite natural disasters such as Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
(1989) and Hurricanes Luis
Hurricane Luis
Hurricane Luis was one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph . The storm was the twelfth tropical storm, sixth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season...
and Marilyn
Hurricane Marilyn
Hurricane Marilyn was the fifteenth tropical depression and thirteenth named storm of the unusually busy 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, following closely on the heels of Hurricane Luis. Hurricane Marilyn was the most powerful storm to hit the Virgin Islands since Hurricane Hugo of 1989.Marilyn...
(1995), the island's infrastructure continues to improve as the flow of visitors continues.
Climate
Demographics
Saint Thomas is divided into the following subdistrictSubdistrict
Subdistrict is a low level administrative division of a country. In Thailand it may refer to the King Amphoe or to the Tambon. In England and Wales it was part of a Registration district....
s (with population as per the 2010 U.S. Census):
- Charlotte Amalie (pop. 18,481)
- Northside (pop. 10,049)
- Tutu (pop. 6,867)
- East End (pop. 8,403)
- Southside (pop. 5,411)
- West End (pop. 2,241)
- Water IslandWater Island, U.S. Virgin IslandsWater Island was acquired by the USA in 1917 from Denmark but continued to be owned by a corporation until several decades later. Since 1996, it has formed part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a United States territory located in the Caribbean Sea. The island is of volcanic origin and lies to the...
(pop. 182)
Transportation
The island is serviced by the Cyril E. King AirportCyril E. King Airport
-Cargo:*Ameriflight *Four Star Aviation*FedEx-Accidents and incidents:On December 28, 1970, Trans Caribbean Airways Flight 505 made a hard landing and ran off the side of the runway. Two of the 48 passengers died in the subsequent fire....
.
The United States Virgin Islands is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. This was inherited from what was the then-current Danish practice at the time of the American acquisition in 1917. However, because St. Thomas is a U.S. territory, most cars are imported from the mainland United States and as a result, the steering column is located on the left side of the vehicle.
There are open-air cabs, also known as the "safaris". It costs one dollar and is the cheapest way to navigate the island. There are set routes that they follow. One passes by every drop-off location about every 5–10 minutes.
The island has many regular taxis from compact size to large vans, as well as open-air, covered trucks called "safari cabs" with bench seats. The latter usually operate only between high-traffic points, e.g., cruise ship terminals at Havensight and Crown Bay and downtown Charlotte Amalie.
Passenger and limited car ferry services to neighboring islands such as Water Island, St. John, St. Croix, and the British Virgin Islands run regularly out of the Red Hook Terminal, Charlotte Amalie, and Crown Bay Marina.
Education
St. Thomas-St. John School District
St. Thomas-St. John School District is one of two school districts in the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States.The district serves the islands of Saint Thomas and Saint John....
operates public schools on Saint Thomas.
Private Schools on St. Thomas:
- Antilles School
- Montessori School
Parochial Schools on St. Thomas:
- All Saints Cathedral SchoolAll Saints Cathedral SchoolThe All Saints Cathedral School, founded in 1928, is a private Episcopal college preparatory day school located on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands on Commandant Gade, or Garden Street...
- Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School
- Weslyan Academy Bible School
Colleges and universities on St. Thomas:
- University of the Virgin IslandsUniversity of the Virgin IslandsThe University of the Virgin Islands is a public university located in the United States Virgin Islands.-Academics:The university has five academic divisions: Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Nursing, and Science and Mathematics. UVI offers several graduate degree programs and...
Crime
Generally the island is peaceful, although there have been instances of unsolved high profile murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s. In April 2011, a prominent American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
construction engineer for the firm Klaus-Manning was shot while returning from dinner. In another instance, a cruise ship passenger was killed in a crossfire between rival gangs.
Notable people
- Alton Augustus Adams – first African American band master for the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
- Edward Wilmot BlydenEdward Wilmot BlydenEdward Wilmot Blyden was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries....
– ambassador, an Igbo in Diaspora, is credited in some history books as having laid the foundation of West African nationalism and Pan-Africanism - Callix CrabbeCallix CrabbeCallix Sadeaq Crabbe is a Major League Baseball second baseman who is currently in the Toronto Blue Jays organization...
– Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - Hannah Davis – a Ralph LaurenRalph LaurenRalph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
and Victoria's SecretVictoria's SecretVictoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
model - Ashley GrahamAshley GrahamAshley Graham may refer to:*Ashley Graham , American plus-size model*Ashley Graham , rugby league player for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL*Ashley Graham , character in the video game Resident Evil 4...
– union leader - Kelsey GrammerKelsey GrammerAllen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
– actor, director, and producer born in St. Thomas - Emile GriffithEmile GriffithEmile Alphonse Griffith is a former boxer who was the first fighter from the U.S. Virgin Islands ever to become a world champion. He is perhaps best known for his controversial third fight with Benny Paret in 1962 for the welterweight world championship...
– former boxer who won world championships in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. - Elrod HendricksElrod HendricksElrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks was a catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. Hendricks played during a 12-year career that lasted from through for the Baltimore Orioles , Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees...
– Major League Baseball player - Roy InnisRoy InnisRoy Emile Alfredo Innis is an African American civil rights activist. He has been National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality since his election to the position in 1968....
– civil rights leader - Julian JacksonJulian JacksonJulian Jackson is a retired professional boxer and former three-time world champion in the light middleweight and middleweight divisions...
– boxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
born in St. Thomas - J. Raymond JonesJ. Raymond JonesJ. "The Fox" Raymond Jones, African American New York politician. He moved to New York City in 1918. He challenged Tammany Hall leader Carmine DeSapio twice. After a failed campaign seeking support to his candidature in 1958, Jones succeeded in becoming the first black leader of Tammany in 1964...
– political activist - Al McBeanAl McBeanAlvin O'Neal McBean is a retired professional baseball player who played 10 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball....
– Major League Baseball player - Ralph Moses PaiewonskyRalph Moses PaiewonskyRalph Moses Paiewonsky was a businessman and politician who served as the ninth civilian governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1961-1969....
– governor - Calvin PickeringCalvin PickeringCalvin Elroy Pickering is a former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball between 1998 and 2005 for the Baltimore Orioles , Cincinnati Reds , Boston Red Sox , and Kansas City Royals...
– Major League Baseball player. - Charles Sainte-Claire DevilleCharles Joseph Sainte-Claire DevilleCharles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville was a geologist and meteorologist.Born in St Thomas he was the brother of Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville....
– a french geologistGeologistA geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using... - Henri Sainte-Claire DevilleHenri Etienne Sainte-Claire DevilleHenri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville was a French chemist.He was born in the island of St Thomas, West Indies, where his father was French consul. Together with his elder brother Charles he was educated in Paris at the College Rollin...
– a french chemist. - Camille PissarroCamille PissarroCamille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
– a key member of the French ImpressionistImpressionismImpressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
group of painters - Kitwana RhymerKitwana RhymerKitwana Rhymer is a United States Virgin Islands basketball player currently with La Villa Basketball of the La Vega League in the Dominican Republic....
– basketball player in China who also played at UMassUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstThe University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system... - Rashawn RossRashawn RossRashawn Ross is an American trumpeter and arranger from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Ross is arguably best known for his contributions in the Dave Matthews Band. After his graduation from the Berklee College of Music , Ross has worked with artists in many different genres of music ranging from...
– Trumpeter who tours with Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews BandDave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was... - Roy Lester Schneider – governor and physician
- Karrine SteffansKarrine SteffansKarrine Steffans is an American author, most notably of the Vixen series of books. She has worked as an actress and as a hip hop model, having appeared in more than 20 music videos, many by multiplatinum-selling rap artists...
– former hip hop music video performer and actress and the author of "Confessions of A Video Vixen." - Morris SimmondsMorris SimmondsMorris Simmonds was a German physician, pathologist, from a family originating in Hanau but born on the then Danish St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands in Caribbean Sea...
– German physician, pathologist, described a syndrome of pituitary failure with emaciation (Simmonds syndrome) - Theron ThomasTheron ThomasRock City are an U.S. Virgin Islands R&B singing, rapping, and songwriting duo, consisting of, two brothers, Timothy Thomas and Theron Thomas .-History:...
– a hip hop artist in the hiphop duo named "Rock City" - Terence TodmanTerence TodmanTerrance Alphonso Todman , is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Chad, Guinea, Costa Rica, Spain, Denmark and Argentina. In 1990, he was awarded the rank of Career Ambassador....
– ambassador - Peter von ScholtenPeter von ScholtenPeter Carl Frederik von Scholten was Governor-General of the Danish West Indies from 1827 to 1848. He was born in Vestervig, Thy, Denmark as the son of captain Casimir von Scholten and Catharina Elisabeth de Moldrup....
– governor general - Denmark VeseyDenmark VeseyDenmark Vesey originally Telemaque, was an African American slave brought to the United States from the Caribbean of Coromantee background. After purchasing his freedom, he planned what would have been one of the largest slave rebellions in the United States...
– leader of planned slave uprising in Charleston, South Carolina - David Levy YuleeDavid Levy YuleeDavid Levy Yulee, born David Levy was an American politician and attorney from Florida, a territorial delegate to Congress, the first Jewish member of the United States Senate, and a member of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War...
– an American politician and the first member of the United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
to have been, at one time, a practicing Jew. - Midre Cummings – Major League Baseball Player
Points of interest
- Blackbeard's CastleBlackbeard's CastleBlackbeard's Castle is one of five National Historic Landmarks in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is located in the city of Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas. Built in 1679 by the Danes as a watchtower to protect the harbor, it was originally called Skytsborg Tower...
- Buck Island National Wildlife RefugeBuck Island National Wildlife RefugeBuck Island National Wildlife Refuge is located about 2 miles south of the island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands of the United States. There are actually two "Buck Islands." The National Wildlife Refuge occupies the one near St. Thomas. The one just north of St. Croix is the centerpiece of...
- Fort ChristianFort ChristianFort Christian is a Danish-built fort in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. It was constructed by the Danish government in the 17th century who occupied the small Caribbean island. As the oldest standing structure in the U.S. Virgin Islands, this fort has served as a town center, a government...
- Magens Bay ArboretumMagens Bay ArboretumThe Magens Bay Arboretum is an arboretum located just inland of Magens Bay, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is operated by the Magens Bay Authority and open to the public....
- Magens BayMagens BayMagens Bay is a bay on Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, located in the Caribbean.Located on the North side of the island, Magens Bay features a well-protected white sand beach stretching for nearly a mile...
- St. Thomas Reformed Church
- St. Thomas SynagogueSt. Thomas SynagogueSt. Thomas Synagogue is an historic synagogue in Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The real name of the synagogue is Beracha Veshalom Vegmiluth Hasidim. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997....
External links
Official sites- United States Virgin Islands - Official Website for the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism
- http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-show_geoid=Y&-tree_id=405&-_caller=geoselect&-context=dt&-errMsg=&-all_geo_types=N&-mt_name=DEC_2000_IAVI_P001&-redoLog=true&-transpose=N&-search_map_config=|b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.9528487917191559|dh=0.6838460131961157|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-67.48042614595042|cy=18.385966173167105|zl=6|pz=6|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368|g=04000US72&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-_lang=en&-geo_id=05000US78010&-geo_id=05000US78020&-geo_id=05000US78030&-CONTEXT=dt&-format=&-search_results=ALL&-ds_name=DEC_2000_IAVIDistricts of the United States Virgin Islands, United States Census Bureau]
- Official Website of St. Thomas and St. John This Week Magazine - Tourist Information for St. Thomas and St. John
- Official Website of St. Croix This Week Magazine - Tourist Information for St. Croix
Map
- St. Thomas USVI Google Map - Satellite Map of St. Thomas, USVI