José Fernando Ramírez (5 May 1804 – 4 March 1871) was a distinguished Mexican historian of the 19th century. He was a mentor of

Alfredo Chavero Alfredo Chavero (1841–1906) was a Mexican archaeologist, politician, poet, and dramatist. According to Howard F. Cline, "Chavero's most enduring claim to remembrance rests...on iscompletion and extension of Ramírez's plans to republish maj ...

, who considered him "the foremost of our historians." A moderate liberal republican, Ramírez opposed the French invasion of Mexico and establishment of monarchy in 1862, but accepted the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the regime of Emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Restored Republic (Mexico), Mexican Republ ...

. He was a valuable asset for the emperor, who wished to have a broad appeal to Mexicans. Ramírez was born in

Parral, Chihuahua Hidalgo del Parral is a city and seat of the municipality of Hidalgo del Parral in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is located in the southern part of the state, from the state capital, the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua. As of 2015, the city ...

but grew up in

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, where he served as a prominent liberal politician. After graduating with a degree in law from San Luis Gonzaga he was elected several times to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He chaired the Ministry of Foreign affairs under three different administrations and became a minister in the Supreme Court of Justice. He paid an emotional goodbye to the emperor. After the fall of the Empire and execution of Maximilian, he went into exile in Europe, since Mexico was no longer considered safe for someone who had served in the imperial government. He died in

Bonn, Germany Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

on 4 March 1871. Ramírez's scholarship focused on prehispanic and sixteenth-century Mexican history and excelled as a biographer. During the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (; ), officially known as the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists with the support of the Second French Empire. This period is often referred to as the Second ...

, he headed the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Literature during the

, directed the National Museum (1852) and built an impressive collection of historical documents. Among his works are one on

Toribio de Benavente Motolinia Toribio of Benavente (1482, Benavente, Spain – 1565, Mexico City, New Spain), also known as Motolinía, was a Franciscan missionary who was one of the famous Twelve Apostles of Mexico who arrived in New Spain in May 1524. His published writing ...

and several translations of

Aztec codices Aztec codices ( , sing. ''codex'') are Mesoamerican manuscripts made by the pre-Columbian Aztec, and their Nahuatl-speaking descendants during the colonial period in Mexico. Most of their content is pictorial in nature and they come from ...

such as '' Mapa Quinatzin'' and ''

Codex Aubin The Aubin Codex is an 81-leaf Aztec codices, Aztec codex written in alphabetic Nahuatl on paper from Europe. Its textual and pictorial contents represent the history of the Aztec peoples who fled Aztlán, lived during the Spanish conquest of th ...

''. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1862. A bibliography of his writings on Mesoamerican ethnohistory appears in the '' Handbook of Middle American Indians''."Appendix B, Ramírez, selected writing of ethnohistorical interest. '' Handbook of Middle American Indians, Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources'', Part 2. pp. 404-406. University of Texas Press 1983. His achievements as a scholar of Mexican history are untarnished by his political role in the

References

External links

Academia Mexicana de la Lengua: José Fernando Ramírez
(in Spanish).
José Fernando Ramírez: su último exilio europeo y la suerte de su última biblioteca
(in Spanish). 19th-century Mexican historians 1804 births 1871 deaths People from Parral, Chihuahua 19th-century Mesoamericanists Historians of Mesoamerica Mexican Mesoamericanists {{Mexico-historian-stub