José María Coppinger, governor of Spanish East Florida (died 1844)

José María Coppinger was a Spanish soldier who served in the infantry of the Royal Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra) and governed East Florida (1816–1821) and several areas in Cuba including Pinar Del Río, Bayamo, the Cuatro Villas and Trinidad at various times between 1801 and 1834. He was also a member of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand and San Hermenegildo.

East Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 to 1821. The British gained control over Spanish Florida in 1763 as part of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War. Deciding that the colony was too large to administer as a single unit, British officials divided Florida into two colonies separated by the Apalachicola River: the colony of East Florida, with its capital located in St. Augustine; and West Florida, with its capital located in Pensacola. East Florida was much larger and comprised the bulk of the former Spanish colony and most of the current state of Florida. It had also been the most populated region of Spanish Florida, but before control was transferred to Britain, most residents – including virtually everyone in St. Augustine – left the territory, with most migrating to Cuba.

April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 270 days remain until the end of the year.