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About Hostos >
About Eugenio María de Hostos
Puerto Rican educator, writer and patriot,
Eugenio María de Hostos was born on January 11, 1839 in the
island village of Río Cañas in Mayaquez. He attended elementary
school in San Juan, and studied education and law in Spain at
the Institute of Higher Education in Bilbao and the University
of Madrid. He joined fellow students in efforts to liberalize
Spain’s colonial rule of Cuba and Puerto Rico and to abolish
African slavery. In 1869, he left Madrid for New York City,
where he joined other exiles in the Cuban Revolutionary Junta,
working for the liberation of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Three years
later, Hostos traveled to Latin America to recruit support for
the liberation movement. In Peru, he protested the exploitation
of Chinese immigrants. In Chile, he championed the opening of
educational opportunities for women, particularly in law and
medicine. In Argentina, he campaigned widely for the
construction of the first trans-Andean railroad.
The government of Chile established a school
for Hostos to implement his advanced concepts of education.
Under his leadership, Liceo Miguel Luis Amunátegui became one of
the foremost educational centers in Latin America. During eight
years in Chile, he wrote award-winning curricula in Spanish and
history and published literary, artistic, and philosophical
works.
After Spanish rule ended in Puerto Rico,
Hostos returned to work once again for the island’s
independence. In 1898, he left for the Dominican Republic, where
he was appointed Director of the Central College and Inspector
General of Public Education. He died there in August of 1903.
Eugenio María de Hostos is the author of such
distinguished works as Ley General de Enseñanza Pública, History
of Teaching, Comments on the Science of Teaching, and Reform in
the Teaching of Law.
His life’s work and ideals are a legacy and
an inspiration for all students at Hostos Community College.
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