Pilar Barbosa de Rosario
[This name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name '' "Barbosa"'' and the second or matrimonial family name is ''de "Rosario"''.] (July 4, 1898 – January 22, 1997) was an
educator,
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
and political activist. She was the first female Official Historian of Puerto Rico.
Early years
Barbosa, born in
Bayamón,
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 ...
, was one of twelve children of
Jose Celso Barbosa
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
, also known as the "Father of the Puerto Rican Statehood Movement". Her father was a member of the Puerto Rican Senate from 1917-1921. Barbosa received her primary and secondary education in Bayamon and was exposed to politics at a young age. As a teenager she enjoyed teaching others. After she graduated from high school, she enrolled in the
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...
.
["Remarks at a Ceremony Honoring Hispanic Excellence in Education September 14, 1984"](_blank)
/ref> She was married to José Ezequiel Rosario but lived many decades as a widow.
Educator and political activist
Barbosa earned her bachelor's degree in Education and then went on to Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, where she earned her Doctorate Degree in History. In 1921, she returned to the island and was offered the position of history professor at the College of Liberal Arts of the University of Puerto Rico, thus becoming the first woman to teach in that institution.
In 1929, she established the Department of History and Social Sciences in her Alma Mater and was its director until 1943. She continued to teach at the university until 1967, the year she retired. Barbosa was also very active in her father's cause and served as political advisor and mentor to many of the politicians who shared her fathers political goals, most notably those from the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, including former Resident Commissioner
Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...
and Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
from 2009 to 2013 Luis Fortuño
Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013.
Fortuño served as the first secretary of econom ...
and former 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 t ...
President and 2009-2013 Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock. Her goal for the party was that it become known as the party of statehood and social justice.["LEY NUM. 53 DEL 27 DE JULIO DE 1997, CREA EL PROGRAMA PILAR BARBOSA DE INTERNADOS EN EDUCACION."](_blank)
/ref>
Awards and recognitions
Among the many awards and recognitions bestowed upon her are the following:
* Professor Emerita - University of Puerto Rico - 1973
* Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa - Interamerican University
The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...
- 1975
* Outstanding Leadership Award - President Ronald W. Reagan - 1984
* Golden Book - Exchange Club of Rio Piedras
Barbosa was also a member of various organizations, including The Royal Spanish Academy of History, Dean of Puerto Rican Historians and The Academy of Arts and Sciences in Puerto Rico. In 1993, she was named by the Legislative Assembly to the position of 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 ...
which was re-established that year.
Written works
Among the books written by Barbosa are the following:
* De Baldorioty a Barbosa: La Comision Autonomista de 1896 (From Baldorioty to Barbosa: The Autonomist Commission of 1896)
* La Politica en los tiempos (Aleto Manuel F. Rossy ciudadano cabal) (Politics in the times (Aleto Manuel F. Rossy, a well-rounded citizen))
* Raices del Progreso Politico Puertorriqueño (Roots of the Puerto Rican Political Progress)
Later years
Barbosa became a widow when her husband, economics professor José Ezequiel Rosario, died in 1963.
Puerto Rico Senate President Roberto Rexach Benitez
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and House Speaker Zaida Hernandez appointed Barbosa in 1993 as the first modern 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 ...
, a post she held unter her death in 1997.
Pilar Barbosa de Rosario died on January 22, 1997, in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...
at the age of 98 and was survived by a brother, Rafael Barbosa. She was buried Thursday at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
__NOTOC__
The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under ...
in San Juan.
New Yort Times Obituary, January 24, 1997
Legacy
On July 27, 1997, the Senate of Puerto Rico approved law #53, authored by Sen. Kenneth McClintock, a Barbosa protégé, which created "Pilar Barbosa Education Internship Program". The program was created as a means to provide professional development training opportunities for public school practitioners and educators in Puerto Rico. The Pilar Barbosa Program serves as a catalyst for long term educational realignment using the graduates as agents of sustainable reform in the public school system.
Program participants are K-12 public school teachers and administrators from Puerto Rico. Every summer, 25 participants come to Washington, D.C. to take part in a myriad of activities including workshops, tours, lectures and group assignments that focus on U.S. education trends and policies in the context of Puerto Rico, integration of technology in the curriculum, innovative curriculum design, and educational leadership. The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, less formally known as The Washington Center, is an independent, nonprofit organization serving hundreds of universities in the United States and other countries. The Washington Center ...
successfully administered the Pilar Barbosa Education Internship Program in the summers of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Washington Center provides an integrated academic and work experience to prepare participants for lives of leadership, professional achievement, and civic engagement. Nearly 298 teachers have already benefited from the program.
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
*History of women in Puerto Rico
The recorded history of Puerto Rican women can trace its roots back to the era of the ''Taíno'', the indigenous people of the Caribbean, who inhabited the island that they called "Boriken" before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Spanish c ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbosa, Pilar
1898 births
1997 deaths
Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico
20th-century Puerto Rican historians
University of Puerto Rico faculty
Clark University alumni
Historians of Puerto Rico