Daniel Cosío Villegas (; July 23, 1898 – March 10, 1976) was a Mexican economist, essayist, historian, and diplomat.

Career and education

Cosío Villegas was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. After studying one year in engineering and two years of philosophy, he received a B.A. in Law from the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

and took several courses in economics at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and Cornell. Later, he received master's degrees from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and the '' École libre de sciences politiques'' of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. After working briefly for ''

Excélsior ''Excélsior'' is a daily newspaper in Mexico City. It is the second-oldest paper in the city after ''El Universal (Mexico City), El Universal'', printing its first issue on March 18, 1917. The newspaper's headquarters are located at Avenida Buc ...

'' he joined

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...

in the production of ''La Antorcha'' magazine. In 1929, he served as secretary general of the National University, counselor to the

Bank of Mexico The Bank of Mexico (), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in th ...

, director of the National School of Economics of the National University (1933–1934), director of ''El Trimestre Económico'' and founded the Fondo de Cultura Económica, one of the most renowned publishing companies in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. On April 2, 1951, he was admitted to the National College and from 1957 until 1963 he chaired

El Colegio de México El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. The college was founded in 1940 by the Me ...

, whose library now bears his name. Simultaneously, he was the Mexican Ambassador to the

UN Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

and became its president in 1959. He received the National Literature Award in 1971 and in 1976 he published ''Memorias'' ('Memoirs'). Several weeks after publishing his memoirs, he died from health compilations, at 77, in Mexico City.

Selected works

*''La cuestión arancelaria en México'' ('The Tariff Issue in Mexico', 1932) *''La historiografía política del México moderno'' ('The Political Historiography Study of Modern Mexico', 1953) *''Porfirio Díaz en la revuelta de La Noria'' ('Porfirio Díaz in the Riot of La Noria', 1954) *''La República restaurada. La Vida política'' ('The Restored Republic. The Political Life', 1955) *''Estados Unidos contra Porfirio Díaz'' ('The United States Against Porfirio Díaz', 1956) *''La Constitución de 1857 y sus críticos'' ('The 1857 Constitution and Its Critics', 1957) *''El Porfiriato. Vida política exterior'' ('The Porfiriato. Foreign Political Life', 2 volumes, 1960 and 1963) *''El Porfiriato. La vida política interior'' ('The Porfiriato. Domestic Political Life', 2 volumes, 1970 and 1973) *''El sistema político mexicano'' ('The Mexican Political System', 1972) *''La sucesión presidencial'' ('The Presidential Succession', 1975) *''Historia moderna de México'' ('Modern History of Mexico', 5 volumes out of 10, 1955 and 1974) *''Memorias'' ('Memoirs', 1976)

References

External links

Daniel Cosío Villegas
( El Colegio Nacional) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosio Villegas, Daniel 1898 births 1976 deaths Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Mexican economists 20th-century Mexican historians National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Harvard University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Cornell University alumni Permanent delegates of Mexico to UNESCO 20th-century Mexican lawyers People from Mexico City National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico)