José Gabriel Cosío Medina ( Accha, March 18, 1887

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, November 23, 1960) was a Peruvian

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

. As a representative of the Peruvian government, he supervised the Yale Peruvian Expedition in 1912 led by Hiram Bingham. He was part of the Cusco School, a generation of

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

students who grouped around regionalism,

indigenism Indigenism can refer to several different ideologies that seek to promote the interests of indigenous peoples. The term is used differently by various scholars and activists, and can be used purely descriptively or carry political connotations. Th ...

, and

decentralism Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

and is considered the most brilliant generation produced in

during the 20th century and the one that had the longest period of influence. His brother Félix Cosío Medina was also part of this group.

Biography

He was born in the district of Accha, province of Paruro,

department of Cusco Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth-largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and Puno ...

. He was a student of philosophy, history, and literature at the

National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco The National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco'') (UNSAAC), also known as Saint Anthony University of Cusco or University of Cusco, is a public university in Cusco, Peru ...

, forming part of the generation known as the (Cuzco School). He participated in the 1909 university reform, and from 1912 he was part of the group that published the ''Revista Universitaria'' founded by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the University of Cusco,

Albert Giesecke Albert Anthony Giesecke (Philadelphia, United States, November 30, 1883 – Miraflores, Lima, Peru, September 7, 1968) was an American teacher who came to Peru contracted by the government of that country. He was entrusted with the rectorship ...

, along with other notable figures in the academic scene of Cusco at the time, such as

Luis E. Valcárcel Luis Eduardo Valcárcel Vizcarra (8 February 1891 – 26 December 1987) was a Peruvian historian, anthropologist, writer and activist. He was a researcher of pre-Hispanic Peru and one of the protagonists of the ''Indigenismo'' movement. He is co ...

, José Uriel García, Rafael Aguilar Páez, Miguel Corazao, Humberto Luna Pacheco,

Francisco Tamayo Francisco Tamayo Yepes (4 October 1902 in Lara, Venezuela, Lara, Venezuela – 14 February 1985 in Caracas, Venezuela) was a Venezuelan Botany, botanist. Species named after Tamayo include Erytina tamayonis, Ichantus tamayonis, Lupinus tamayoanus, ...

, José Mendizábal, and Luis Rafael Casanova. In 1909, he began his career as a professor of Spanish and literature. He taught at the

National University of San Antonio Abad of Cusco The National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco'') (UNSAAC), also known as Saint Anthony University of Cusco or University of Cusco, is a public university in Cusco, Peru a ...

, San Carlos School in

Puno Puno ( Aymara and ) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was established in ...

, San Juan School in Trujillo, and the

National School of Sciences and Arts of Cuzco The National School of Sciences and Arts of Cuzco () is a public school in Cuzco, Peru. According to the Congress of Peru, it's the oldest school in Peru. The school was founded by Simón Bolívar by Decree of July 8, 1825 on the basis of the ol ...

. In 1912, he was a delegate of the

Peruvian government The Republic of Peru is a unitary state with a multi-party semi-presidential system. The current government was established by the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The government is composed of three branches, being executive, judicial, and legisla ...

and the

Geographical Society of Lima The Geographical Society of Lima (, SGL) is a scientific institution and List of geographical societies, geographical society based in Lima, Peru, founded in 1888. It has a library of ancient works and publishes works of geographical significance. ...

on the scientific expedition of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, led by Hiram Bingham in

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

. He was also a councilman for the Municipality of Cusco, an active member of the Public Welfare Society of Cusco, founder of the American Institute of Art, and president of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

of Cusco. He wrote several articles on architecture, history of Cusco, and its institutions, among other topics. He passed away on November 23, 1960, in the city of

References

Sources

* * * Peruvian academics 1887 births 1960 deaths {{Peru-academic-bio-stub