Samuel Ramón Quiñones Quiñones (October 29, 1903 – March 11, 1976), commonly known as Samuel R. Quiñones, was a prominent attorney in Puerto Rico who served as Speaker of the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

from 1941 to 1943 and for twenty years in the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of 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 the legislative branch of ...

as its fifth President, from 1949 to 1968, by far the longest serving Senate President. He is also the only person to hold both posts.

Biography

Samuel Ramón Quiñones Quiñones was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

to his parents Don Francisco Quiñones and Doña Dolores Quiñones. Graduated from Central High School in Santurce. He studied law at the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System and the only public law school in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1913 at ...

. During the 1930s and 1940s, he served on various organizations: President of

Ateneo Puertorriqueño The Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Athenaeum) is a cultural institution in Puerto Rico. Founded on April 30, 1876, it has been called Puerto Rico's oldest cultural institution, however, it is actually its third oldest overall and second c ...

(1934–1937), President of Colegio de Abogados (1943–1945), President of House of Representatives in Puerto Rico (1941–1943), Vice President for the

(1945), and elected President of PPD ( Partido Popular Democrático) in 1938.''Puerto Rico: Figuras, apuntes históricos, símbolos nacionales'', por Esther M. Melón de Díaz, 1975, pg. 200. He had also served as Speaker of the

in the early 1940s. During his terms in office as President of the Senate, he commissioned the famed Toro & Ferrer architectural firm to design the Senate Annex office building, which was inaugurated in 1955. Between 1951 and 1952, he served as one of the most prominent members of the

Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico On June 8, 1950, the United States government approved Public Law 600, authorizing Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution in 1951. The Constitutional Assembly () or Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico met for a period of several months ...

that drafted the

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine arti ...

. A prolific poet and writer, he founded the literary magazine called ''Índice''. In 1941 he published an essay book: ''Temas y letras''. Quiñones died in

by his

mouth cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless Erythroplakia, red or Leukoplakia, white patch, that ...

on March 11, 1976, at the age of 71. Was buried at

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery () is a colonial-era Catholic cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in ...

in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

References

Sources

* "Legisladores puertorriqueños 1900-1996", by Nestor Rigual * "Elecciones y Partidos Politicos de Puerto Rico 1809-2000", by Fernando Bayron Toro {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinones, Samuel Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery 20th-century Puerto Rican lawyers Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico 1903 births 1976 deaths Speakers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male writers 20th-century American poets Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Puerto Rico Deaths from cancer in Puerto Rico Deaths from oral cancer in the United States 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Puerto Rican poets 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico

Biography

See also

References

Sources