Julio J. Henna (24 May 1848 – 2 February 1924) was a Puerto Rican physician and political figure. Henna participated in the founding of the Puerto Rico Section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York as part of the section's faction that supported the annexation of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

to the United States.Encyclopedia Puerto Rico.

Early years

Jose Julio Henna Perez was born at 24 Isabel street in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, on 24 May 1848.Lorenzo A. Balasquide. ''Medicos Notables del Antaño Ponceño.'' Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1984. Page 39. His parents were Jose Henna Darricot – an Englishman – and Maria del Rosario Perez y Garcia, a Puerto Rican member of the privileged upper class.

Political incursion

When he was twenty years old, Henna designed a plan to liberate Puerto Rico from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

colonialism. The plan failed when the authorities discovered it and he was jailed as a result. However, he was set free through the general amnesty which followed the Spanish revolution, which also ended the reign of

Queen Isabel II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

. In spite of this, in 1869 General Sanz stated to Henna that it would be best if he left the Island. Henna moved to New York and studied medicine at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, earning his medical degree on 23 February 1872. From New York, Henna continued to support the cause of independence for Puerto Rico.

Career

In 1880, Henna founded, together with Drs. Chauveau, Deberceau, Muvial, and Ferrer, the New York City French Hospital at 330 West 30th street.Lorenzo A. Balasquide. ''Medicos Notables del Antaño Ponceño.'' Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1984. Page 41. He became medical director of the institution and was a member of the medical faculty at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...

Death

Henna died on 2 February 1924.Lorenzo A. Balasquide. ''Medicos Notables del Antaño Ponceño.'' Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1984. Page 42.

Legacy

A street in the city of Ponce is named after Dr. Julio J. Henna. It intersects Calle Dr. Virgilio Biaggi, in the Extension Mariani sector of Barrio

Canas Urbano Canas Urbano is one of the 31 barrio of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón, Canas Urbano is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now ...

. A gold pendant believed to have belonged to Ponce area cacique Agueybana, and acquired by Dr. Henna, was displayed at the '' Gabinete de Lectura de Ponce'' around 1910, and is currently on display at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

.''Ponce: Notas para su historia.''
Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservación Histórica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 8. Accessed 19 February 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henna, Julio J. Physicians from Ponce Politicians from Ponce 1848 births 1924 deaths Burials at Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro Puerto Rican independence activists