Pedro Albizu Campos

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Albizu and the second or maternal family name is Campos.

Pedro Albizu Campos
Campos during his years at Harvard University, 1913–1919
Born(1893-06-29)June 29, 1893[1]
Machuelo Abajo, Ponce, Puerto Rico
DiedApril 21, 1965(1965-04-21) (aged 71)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican.
Alma materUniversity of Vermont
Harvard University
OrganizationPuerto Rican Nationalist Party
SpouseLaura Meneses
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Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893[2] – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the president and spokesperson of the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico from 1930 until his death. He led the nationalist revolts of October 1950 against the United States government in Puerto Rico. Albizu Campos spent a total of twenty-six years in prison at various times for his Puerto Rican independence activities.

Campos graduated from Harvard Law School in 1921 with the highest grade point average in his law class, an achievement that earned him the right to give the valedictorian speech at his graduation ceremony. However, animus towards his African heritage led to his professors delaying two of his final exams in order to keep Albizu Campos from graduating on time.[3] During his time at Harvard University he became involved in the Irish struggle for independence.[4][5] A polyglot, he spoke six languages. Because of his oratorical skill, he was hailed as El Maestro (The Teacher).[6][7]

In 1924, Albizu Campos joined the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and became its vice president. He was elected president of the party in 1930. In 1950, he planned armed uprisings in several cities in Puerto Rico. Afterward he was convicted and returned to prison. He died in 1965 shortly after his pardon and release from federal prison, some time after suffering a stroke. There is controversy over his medical treatment in prison. Albizu Campos had alleged that he was the subject of human radiation experiments in prison.

  1. ^ Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963). Page 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. OCLC 1089503393
  2. ^ Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963). p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. OCLC 1089503393
  3. ^ "Juramentación de Pedro Albizu Campos como Abogado: Regreso de Harvard a Puerto Rico", La Voz de la Playa de Ponce, Edición 132, November 2010. Page 7. A reproduction of a segment from the book Las Llamas de la Aurora: Pedro Albizu Campos, un acercamiento a su biografía, by Marisa Rosado (San Juan, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Puerto. 1991.)
  4. ^ Boston Daily Globe, November 3, 1950.
  5. ^ Marisa Rosado, Pedro Albizu Campos: Las Llamas de la Aurora (San Juan, PR: Ediciones Puerto, Inc., 2008), p. 71.
  6. ^ Victor Villanueva. Colonial Memory and the Crime of Rhetoric: Pedro Albizu Campos. 2009. Page 636.
  7. ^ Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce. Page 117. Gobierno Municipal Autonomo de Ponce. Oficina de Cultura y Turismo. 2002.