Roberto Brenes Mesén (July 6, 1874 – May 19, 1947),Henry Grattan Doyle (1947). Roberto Brenes-Mesén. ''

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

'' 30 (3): 392–393 was a

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, writer, educator, and journalist.

Biography

Brenes Mesén born in San José, Costa Rica on 6 July 1874. He went to school and high-school in San José. He obtained his Maestro Normal degree in the Escuela Normal de Heredia, where he was later employed. In 1897 he left for Chile on a scholarship, where he studied Law, French and Latin. He later studied philology in the Instituto Pedagógico de Chile. He returned to Costa Rica in 1900 and taught Castellano, Psychology and Logic in the Liceo de Costa Rica. He also became the Liceo de Heredia's first headmaster from 1905 to 1908. In 1917, under Federico Tinoco's dictatorship he was named Minister for Public Education. A year later he left for the United States under voluntary exile. In the United States Brenes Mesén was employed in varied roles, including Minister for Costa Rica in Washington, and as professor at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. During the first decade of the 20th century, he began working as a journalist, and he began attending political meetings with

Joaquín García Monge Joaquín García Monge (January 20, 1881 – January 1, 1958) is considered one of Costa Rica's most important writers. He was born in Desamparados, Costa Rica in 1881 and was educated in both Costa Rica and Chile, where he fell under the influen ...

. Although he was living in the United States, in 1928 he became part of the so-called Civic League, with Carmen Lyra, Joaquín García Monge,

Omar Dengo Omar Dengo Guerrero (9 March 1888 – 18 November 1928) was a Costa Rican teacher, journalist, writer, lawyer and anarchist. He is considered a major figure in the history of Costa Rican education. Biography Born in San José on 9 March 1888. ...

, Alfredo González Flores and José María Zeledón. This group was engaged in promoting and fighting for workers' rights. They fought against the government benefits to the United Fruit Company, the Atlantic Rail Company and other Minor Cooper Keith companies. He left the United States in 1939 or 1940 at the age of 65 as a retired professor. He continued writing articles for the biggest newspapers and magazines in Costa Rica promoting education. Brenes Mesén once said "This country educated to earn a living, but not to become happy, while man's happiness should be the goal of all education". His publications also included poetry, including ''Poesias de amor y muerte''. Some of his works were controversial at the time, such the argument he held with the Catholic Church over the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution in the Liceo de Heredia and mixed instruction. He was a member of the Theosophical Society of Costa Rica,

American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese is a language-specific professional association in the United States that was founded on December 29, 1917, in New York City as the American Association of Teachers of Spanish. The na ...

and a freemason. He died in San José on 19 May 1947 and was declared Benemérito de la Patria in 1974. The first high school in Hatillo, San José was named after Brenes Mesén in 1965.

References

1874 births 1947 deaths People from San José, Costa Rica Costa Rican people of Spanish descent Government ministers of Costa Rica Costa Rican Freemasons Costa Rican Theosophists Costa Rican educators University of Chile alumni Columbia University faculty University of New Mexico faculty Syracuse University faculty {{CostaRica-politician-stub