Carlos E. Chardón
Carlos Eugenio Chardón Palacios (28 September 1897 – 7 March 1965) was the first Puerto Rican
In the 1920s, he was appointed as Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor. In that position, he traveled in Central and South America, aiding agricultural programs in Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Dominican Republic. After serving as a university administrator and head of a major agency, he returned to his academic work in the fields of land use and agriculture in 1940 and later. He published several books on his studies in Puerto Rico and Latin America.
Early life and education
Carlos Eugenio Chardón Palacios
Chardón received his primary and secondary education in his hometown. In 1915, he began his studies in agriculture at the
Chardón earned his B.A. degree in 1919 and continued towards his Master's. He specialized in
First Puerto Rican mycologist
Chardón worked as a phytopathologist at the Agricultural Experimental Station in
Chardón was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor by
Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico
He resigned from his position as Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor in 1931, when he was named by Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the US-appointed governor, as Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico. As the first Puerto Rican to hold that position, Chardón was in a very prominent role.
Don
In reaction, on 23 October 1935, students at the university in Rio Piedras who supported Chardón began a signature drive to declare Albizu Campos as "Student Enemy Number One". A pro-Nationalist faction of students protested, denouncing Chardón and the Liberal Party in turn.[8]
Río Piedras massacre
The following day, 24 October, a student assembly at the university declared Albizu Campos Persona non grata (person not welcomed). Concerned about the potential for violence, Chardón requested the governor to provide armed police officers at the university because of the tensions. That day, two police officers saw what they thought was a suspicious-looking automobile and asked the driver, Ramón S. Pagán, for his license. His friend Pedro Quiñones was with him, and a confrontation developed that resulted in the deaths of Pagán and Quiñones. The local newspaper El Mundo reported the next day that an explosion and gunfire had been heard; the students Eduardo Rodríguez Vega and José Santiago Barea also died that day. The incident became known as the "Río Piedras massacre" and caused national outrage.[8]
Plan Chardón
In 1935, Chardón was appointed by Blanton Winship, the island governor, as head of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA). Luis Muñoz Marín, a senator in the Puerto Rican legislature and member of the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico, had encouraged formation of the agency; it was also modeled on some of the New Deal programs of the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, developed by his administration to put people to work during the Great Depression. Well received, it was known informally as "Plan Chardón".[9] It encouraged the training and development of Agriculture Technicians.
Chardón resigned from his positions in PRRA and the University of Puerto Rico because of his disagreements with the Government of Puerto Rico. He left Puerto Rico and helped in the agricultural and economic development of the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Iran.
After returning to Puerto Rico in 1940, he held positions as director of the Land Authority (1940), and the Tropical Agricultural Institute in Mayagüez (1942).[3]
Marriage and family
Chardón married Dolores López Wiscovich; they had 4 children - two sons and two daughters. His second son,
His younger brother, Carlos Fernando Chardón (5 September 1907 – 9 December 1981), served as the Puerto Rico Adjutant General and Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973.[11]
Honors
- In 1932 the Venezuelan governmentgave Chardón the Liberator Cross and the Medal of Honor in Public Instruction.
- In 1935 he received an Honorary Doctorate from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
- In 1953 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras.
Written works
- Mycological Explorations of Colombia (1930)
- Mycological Explorations of Venezuela (1934)
- Viajes y Naturaleza (1941), in which he described his trips in the United States and the Americas, and contributions of Latin American scientists.
- The first, second and third volumes of Los Naturalistas en América Latina (1949).
Legacy
Chardón was in the process of publishing the fourth and fifth volumes of Los Naturalistas en América Latina when he died on 7 March 1965, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was buried at the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
- The Puerto Rican Mycological Society sponsors the annual "Carlos E. Chardón Lecture" in his honor, held during the Annual Symposium of Mycology.[3]
- A roadway was named for him in the Hato Rey section of San Juan.
- The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus is named "Carlos E. Chardón" in his honor.[12]
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- French immigration to Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez people
Notes
- Spanish name, the first or paternal surnameis Chardón and the second or maternal family name is Palacios.
References
- ^ Armando Torres Leon. Los Municipios de Puerto Rico y Su Historia y Su Cultura: PONCE, La Perla del Sur. Santurce, Puerto Rico: Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico. Programa Regular de Educación. Programa Editorial. Celeste Benitez, Secretaria de Educación. 1992. p. 154.
- ^ Archivo General de Puerto Rico: Documentos Archived 18 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e Mycological News Archived 12 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Mycologia
- .
- ^ "Ophionectria portoricensis". MycoBank. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-934461-69-3
- ^ ISBN 978-1-934461-69-3
- ISBN 978-1-934461-69-3
- ^ Puerto Rico Archived January 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Carlos Fernando Chardón via archive.today. Accessed April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Chardon". University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. Chardón.