Francisco José Antonio Lluch Mora (7 May 1924 – 26 October 2006) was a Puerto Rican historian, poet, writer, school teacher and college professor. He is best known for his legendary book ''"Orígenes y Fundación de Ponce y Otras Noticias Relativas a su Desarrollo Urbano, Demográfico y Cultural (Siglos XVI-XIX)"''.

Early years

Lluch Mora was born 7 May 1924 in

Yauco, Puerto Rico Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...

. His parents were Enrique Lluch Polidori (1 October 1894 – 20 October 1965) and Matilde Mora y Berenguer. He was the eldest of five brothers. His brothers were Enrique, Eugenio, Federico, Jaime and Francisco Poudevida Mora.

Career

Teacher, professor, scholar

Lluch Mora was a school teacher and university professor, teaching Spanish, literature, and history. He started his teaching career as a school teacher in the elementary and high schools of his hometown Yauco and also taught in Guánica. He held various other positions within the

Puerto Rico Department of Education The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of the statewide public education system in the United States, with (Hawaii being the other). The PRDOE is the state education agency in charge of managing public schools in Puerto Rico as ...

. He also taught at both private and public universities. He was head of the Department of Hispanic Studies of the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, head of the Department of Spanish at the

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce The University of Puerto Rico at Ponce (UPRP or UPR-Ponce) is a public college in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is the only campus of the University of Puerto Rico on the southern region of the island. History The school opened on 23 August 1970 as Co ...

and professor at the graduate school of the

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doct ...

Historian

Lluch Mora was a highly regarded historian, receiving many honors and accolades. He published various books, among them his masterpiece ''"Orígenes y Fundación de Ponce y Otras Noticias Relativas a su Desarrollo Urbano, Demográfico y Cultural (Siglos XVI-XIX)"'', which earned him a recognition by the Puerto Rico Senate in 2001.

Poetry

In the area of poetry Lluch Mora is remembered for ''"Tu presencia"'' (1949), and ''"Canto desesperado a la ceniza"'' (1955). His literary personality has been studied by Eduardo Cautino Jordan in ''"La personalidad literaria de Francisco Lluch Mora."'' His extensive bibliography has been written by Ana María Ortiz Salichs in ''"Francisco Lluch Mora: bibliografía mínima."''

Accolades

In 1995, Lluch Mora received the award of ''Humanista del Año'' (Humanist of the Year) from the ''"Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades."'' He was also Charter Member of ''"Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua"'' (Puerto Rican Academy of Language), the ''"Academia de Artes y Ciencias"'' (Academy of Arts and Sciences) and the ''"Academia de Artes, Historia y Arqueología"'' (Academy of Arts, History, and Archeology). He was also charter member of the ''"Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Escritores"'' (Puerto Rican Writers Society) and the ''"Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueños"'' (Society of Puerto Rican Authors), among others. He received an honorary doctoral degree (Doctor Honoris Causa) from the

Universidad Central del Caribe The Universidad Central del Caribe is a private university in Bayamón, Puerto Rico that focuses on graduate studies and professional certifications in the health sciences. It was founded in 1976 in the municipality of Cayey Cayey (), offic ...

and the Universidad Mundial de Puerto Rico and was awarded the honor of ''"Caballero de la Orden de San Juan Bautista"'' from Puerto Rico, and ''"Caballero de la Orden de la Cruz de Jerusalén"'' from Rome.

Family life

Lluch Mora married Sylvia Doris Velez Catala on 6 February 1943 in Yauco and had 4 children: Enrique, Amalia, Eugenia and Ana.

Death

Lluch Mora died 26 October 2006 in

. He was buried at Cementerio Nuevo Municipal de Yauco.

Works

Among his better known works are: *''Orígenes y Fundación de Ponce y Otras Noticias Relativas a su Desarrollo Urbano, Demográfico y Cultural (Siglos XVI-XIX).'' (Plaza Mayor; San Juan, Puerto Rico; 2000) *''Palabras en el Tiempo.'' (Colección Aquí y Ahora) (1996) *''La huella del latido: Decimario (1947–1985).'' (1994) *'' De San German, 1701–1712.'' Editorial Isla. (Dec 1981) *''Decimario primero.'' (Serie Literatura hoy) (1976) *''La lumbre y el ocaso: Momento de las alegorías, 1964–1965.'' (Colección Edil poética)(1973) *''Canto a Eugenio María de Hostos.'' (Riocañas) (1959) *''Canto desesperado a la ceniza.'' Elegía. (1955) *''Del barro a Dios. 1949–1950.'' Poems. (1954) *''Del asedio y la clausura.'' (1950) *''Fundación de la Villa de San Germán en las Lomas de Santa Marta.'' *''Historia del origen y fundación de Guayanilla.'' (Boston, 1977) *''Noticias sobre los orígenes y la fundación de Yauco.'' *''Noticias referentes a Ponce en los siglos XVIII y XIX.'' *''Poblamiento de Hormigueros (Siglos XVI-XIX).''

Honors and recognitions

On 1 November 2001 he was recognized by 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 t ...

with Resolution Number 933. He is also recognized at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens as one of Ponce's great historians.''Tricentennial Park: History.''
TravelPonce. Retrieved 9 June 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lluch Mora, Francisco 1924 births 2006 deaths Writers from Ponce Educators from Ponce People from Yauco, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican male writers 20th-century Puerto Rican historians 20th-century male writers University of Puerto Rico faculty American male non-fiction writers Historians of Puerto Rico 20th-century American male writers