Daniel Cosío Villegas (July 23, 1898 – March 10, 1976) was a Mexican prominent economist, essayist, historian, and diplomat. Cosío Villegas was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. After studying one year in engineering and two years of philosophy, he received a B.A. in Law from the National University (nowadays

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

) and took several courses in economics at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Later, he received master's degrees from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

and the ''École libre de sciences politiques'' of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(now ''

Institut d'études politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

''). After working briefly for ''

Excélsior ''Excélsior'' is a daily newspaper in Mexico City. It is the second oldest paper in the city after '' El Universal'', printing its first issue on March 18, 1917. History ''Excélsior'' was founded by Rafael Alducin and first published in Mexic ...

'' he joined

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...

in the production of ''La Antorcha'' magazine. In 1929, he served as secretary general of the National University, counselor to the

Bank of Mexico The Bank of Mexico ( es, Banco de México), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to ac ...

, director of the National School of Economics of the National University (1933–1934), director of ''El Trimestre Económico'' and founded the

Fondo de Cultura Económica Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE or simply "Fondo") is a Spanish language, non-profit publishing group, partly funded by the Mexican government. It is based in Mexico but it has subsidiaries throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It was founded in ...

, one of the most renowned publishing companies in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. On April 2, 1951 he was admitted to the National College and from 1957 until 1963 he chaired

El Colegio de México El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. The college was founded in 1940 by the Mex ...

, whose library now bears his name. Simultaneously, he was the Mexican Ambassador to the

UN Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

and became its president in 1959. He received the National Literature Award in 1971 and in 1976 he published ''Memorias'' (''Memoirs''). Several weeks after publishing his memoirs, he died in Mexico City. Cosio Villegas was known for being a heavy smoker, even his last days.

Selected works

*''La cuestión arancelaria en México'' (The Tariff Issue in Mexico, 1932) *''La historiografía política del México moderno'' (The Political Historiography Study of Modern Mexico, 1953) *''Porfirio Díaz en la revuelta de La Noria'' (Porfirio Díaz in La Noria Riot, 1954) *''La República restaurada. La Vida política'' (The Restored Republic, The Political Life, 1955) *''Estados Unidos contra Porfirio Díaz'' (The United States against Porfirio Díaz, 1956) *''La Constitución de 1857 y sus críticos'' (The 1857 Constitution and its critics, 1957) *''El Porfiriato. Vida política exterior'' (Porfirio Díaz's term. Foreign Political Life, 2 volumes, 1960 and 1963) *''El Porfiriato. La vida política interior'' (Porfirio Díaz's term. Domestic Political Life, 2 volumes, 1970 and 1973) *''El sistema político mexicano'' (The Mexican Political System, 1972) *''La sucesión presidencial'' (The Presidential Succession, 1975) *''Historia moderna de México'' (Modern History of Mexico, 5 volumes out of 10, 1955 – 1974) *''Memorias'' (Memoirs, 1976)

External links

Daniel Cosío Villegas
( El Colegio Nacional) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosio Villegas, Daniel 1898 births 1976 deaths Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Mexican economists 20th-century Mexican historians National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Harvard University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Cornell University alumni Permanent Delegates of Mexico to UNESCO 20th-century Mexican lawyers