Mariano Abril y Ostalo (May 25, 1861 − December, 5 1935) was a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as a member of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control th ...

from 1917 to 1920.

Early years and work

Mariano Abril y Ostalo was born on May 25, 1861, in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

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 ...

. During his youth, he worked as a notary clerk while writing for ''El Palenque de la Juventud'' under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of "Florete". In 1888, he founded ''La Linterna'', a magazine that was

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

by the government. He then worked for ''El Clamor del País'', a San Juan political newspaper. He also collaborated for ''La Democracia'', another newspaper which he ended up directing in 1895.

Exile in Europe

In 1896, after attacking the government in his newspaper, he was convicted to prison by a War Council. However, he fled to France where he stayed for a while. He then moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where he was detained and jailed for several months. After receiving a pardon from the Ministry of Overseas, Don Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, he remained in Madrid for three years collaborating for the newspapers ''

El Globo ''El Globo'' was a Spanish daily newspaper which was in circulation between 1875 and 1932 in Madrid, Spain. Its subtitle was ''diario ilustrado'' (Spanish: ''Illustrated Daily''). It was among the influential publications of the period during whi ...

'', '' Heraldo de Madrid'', and ''

El Liberal ''El Liberal'' was a Spanish liberal newspaper published in Madrid between 1879 and 1936. It was one of the leading papers of Spain under the Restoration. Between 1890 and 1906, ''El Liberal'' was edited by Miguel Moya (1856–1920), a leading Sp ...

''.

Return to Puerto Rico and political career

Abril y Ostalo then moved to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and then to

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. When the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

ended in 1898, he returned to Puerto Rico and joined Luis Muñoz Rivera in his political fight. He became a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senat ...

in 1904, and then of the

first Senate of Puerto Rico The First Puerto Rican Senate, under United States occupation, was the first meeting of senators of the Senate of Puerto Rico elected as part of the legislative branch of their government. Elections for the Senate of Puerto Rico were authorized b ...

in 1917, representing the District of Guayama. He was again reelected in 1920, this time as a Senator at-large.

Writings and later years

Abril continued to collaborate with newspapers and magazines like ''Revista de las Antillas'', ''Puerto Rico Ilustrado'', and '' El Mundo'', as well as the Cuban publication ''Las Antillas''. He also wrote poems which were compiled in the 1900 book ''Amorosas''. Other of his books were ''Sensaciones de un cronista'' (1903) and '' Un héroe de la independencia de España y América: Antonio Valero de Bernabé'' (1929). Abril y Ostalo was the first president of the Puerto Rican Academy of History and since 1931 served as

Official Historian of Puerto Rico Pursuant to a law approved in 1903, "An Act for the Approval and Conservation of Certain Historical Data of Puerto Rico", the Puerto Rico Legislature created the Office of the Official Historian of Puerto Rico. The historians who held the position ...

, until his death on December 5, 1935. He is buried at Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

References

External links

Biografía de Mariano Abril y Ostalo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abril, Mariano 1861 births 1935 deaths Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican historians Historians of Puerto Rico People from Colonial Puerto Rico Union of Puerto Rico politicians