Fernando Picó Bauermeister, S.J. (August 15, 1941 – June 27, 2017) was a Puerto Rican Jesuit,

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

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

. Picó was a leading expert on the

history of Puerto Rico The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people between 430 BC and AD 1000. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taínos. The Taí ...

and was considered an authority on the island's 20th century history. One of his best known works, ''Historia General de Puerto Rico'', is widely utilized in Puerto Rican history

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

. He was a professor of history at the

University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a public land-grant research university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the Univ ...

, from 1972 until his death in 2017.

Biography

Picó was born in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Santurce, 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 ju ...

, on August 15, 1941, to Florencio Picó and Matilde Bauermeister Picó. He attended the

Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola is a private, Catholic, Jesuit, all-male college-preparatory school run by the U.S. Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1952.

, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, Jesuit,

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educati ...

in San Juan, from 1954 to 1958. Picó then received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Springfield College in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In 1959, he entered the Saint Andrew-on-Hudson seminary, a Jesuit seminary located in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park (CDP), New York, Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland, New York, Haviland. ...

, where he studied philosophy and theology. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in history from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1966 and obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

in 1970. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''The Bishops of France in the Reign of Louis IX (1226-70)''. On May 22, 1971, Picó was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

a Jesuit priest and took his final vows on September 14, 1980. Additionally, he studied in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Picó was considered one of the leading authorities on Puerto Rican history. One of his best known publications, "Historia General De Puerto Rico," is a required text in many

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

s on the island. His articles have been published in numerous Puerto Rican, mainland American, and international magazines and newspapers. He taught at the Department of History at the

from 1972 and collaborated with the Association of Caribbean Historians until his death in 2017. In 2008, Picó was awarded Eugenio María de Hostos Chair. He wrote the speech commemorating the 169th birthday of

Eugenio María de Hostos Eugenio María de Hostos (January 11, 1839 – August 11, 1903), known as "''El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas''" ("The Great Citizen of the Americas"), was a Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, novelist, an ...

, a major figure in 19th century Puerto Rican history, that year. 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, ...

honored Picó as a distinguished professor in 2010, calling him "the leading authority in the field of 19th century Island historiography, for his innovative projects, approaches, and methodologies." In addition to his work as a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and historian, Father Picó also authored several children's stories, including "La peinilla colorada." Picó, a humanitarian as well, worked with prison inmates. Father Fernando Picó, who had suffered from some health problems for several months, became ill on June 26, 2017. He died unexpectedly at the Jesuit residence in

Cupey, San Juan, Puerto Rico Cupey is one of the 18 barrios of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico located in the mountainous area of the municipality. It is the largest barrio or district in the San Juan and the third most populous with 36,058 inhabitants according t ...

, on June 27, 2017, at the age of 75. On June 30, 2017, a public wake was organized to display his flag-draped coffin at the Tower Rotunda of the

University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. He was survived by two sisters, Matilde Picó and Carmen Picó, and predeceased by his brother, Dr. Jose F. Picó.

Selected works authored

*"Registro General de Jornaleros: Utuado, Puerto Rico 1849-50" *"Historia General de Puerto Rico" (1986) *"History of Puerto Rico: A Panorama of Its People" (1986) *"Vivir en Caimito" (1989) *"Puerto Rico, tierra adentro y mar afuera" (1991) *"La Peineta Colorada" (''The Red Comb'') (1991) *"Don Quijote en motora y otras andanzas" (1993) * "El día menos pensado: Historia de los presidiarios en Puerto Rico (1793-1993)" (1994) *"Coffee, Society and Power in Latin America" (1995) *"Puerto Rico 1898: The War After The War" (2003) *"Puerto Rico Inside and Out: Changes and Continuities" (2008) *"Santurce y las voces de su gente" (2014) *''Universitas Ludens'' (2019)

References

External links

Association of Caribbean Historians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pico, Fernando 1941 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Puerto Rican historians Historians of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Jesuits 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits 21st-century Puerto Rican historians American children's writers University of Puerto Rico faculty Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Fordham University alumni Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni People from Santurce, Puerto Rico People from San Juan, Puerto Rico