Luis Fortuño Janeiro (1902 – 1966) was a politician, historian, journalist, and businessman from

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 ...

. He was senator from Ponce from 1937 to 1941.

Historian and journalist

Fortuño is best remembered for his ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963)'', a photographic record of the city of Ponce and its leaders that covered nearly 300 years of Ponce history. It was his second edition of the book. He owned Imprenta Fortuño (Fortuño Press), a 20th-century icon in southern Puerto Rico's publishing industry. The press shut down in 2015.

Political career

In 1936, he led the strike against the high rates of the Ponce Electric Company. The Company was subsequently sold to the Puerto Rican Government's Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales (now (2019) called "Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de Puerto Rico"), becoming part of it in 1937. In 1956 Fortuño ran for mayor of Ponce, but lost his bid to Carlos Juan Cintrón.

Books by Fortuño Janeiro

*''Album histórico de Ponce, 1692–1963'' Ponce, PR: Imprenta Fortuño. 1937. (First edition) *''Laureles póstumos : Antonio R. Barceló.'' 1939. (co-authored with Ramón Fortuño Sellés) *''Album histórico de Ponce, 1692–1963'' Ponce, PR: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. (Second Edition) Note: Fay Fowlie-Flores wrote an index to both editions of the ''Album Histórico'' tilted "Indice a las dos ediciones del Album histórico de Ponce : 1692–1963."

Accolades

* He is recognized at the

Parque del Tricentenario Parque del Tricentenario is a passive urban park in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The park was built to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city. It was inaugurated during the mayoral administration of mayor Rafael Cordero ...

in Ponce, Puerto Rico. * In 1973, the Municipality of Ponce dedicated its Ponce Carnaval to him.Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada.'' Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 173. Item 880.

Death

Fortuño Janeiro died in the hospital in Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 19 June 1966 due to late stage stomach cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortuño Janeiro, Luis Journalists from Ponce Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Politicians from Ponce Writers from Ponce 20th-century Puerto Rican historians Businesspeople from Ponce Year of birth uncertain 1902 births 1966 deaths Historians of Puerto Rico