This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in
Puerto Rican descent. The government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico since 2007.[1][2]
Also included in the list are some long-term continental American and other residents or immigrants of other ethnic heritages who have made Puerto Rico their home and consider themselves to be Puerto Ricans.
The list is divided into categories and, in some cases, sub-categories, which best describe the field for which the subject is most noted. Some categories such as "Actors, actresses, comedians and directors" are relative since a subject who is a comedian may also be an actor or director. In some cases a subject may be notable in more than one field, such as Luis A. Ferré, who is notable both as a former governor and as an industrialist. However, the custom is to place the subject's name under the category for which the subject is most noted.
Ivy Queen (born 1972), singer, lyricist, rapper, musician, fashion icon; one of the early founders and creators of the reggaeton style
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (born 1996), track and field athlete; at the 2020 Olympics she became the first Puerto Rican of Afro-Latino descent and the second person representing Puerto Rico to win a gold medal
Jesús Eduardo Amaral (1927–2020), architect, educator; first director of the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico; Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
Toro Ferrer, pioneering Puerto Rican architectural firm led by Osvaldo Toro FAIA and Miguel Ferrer FAIA, both Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and responsible for such landmarks as the Caribe Hilton, the Supreme Court, the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport and the Hotel La Concha[50]
Henry Klumb (1905–1984), German-born architect responsible for many Puerto Rico designs from 1944 to 1984; Fellow of the American Institute of Architects[51]
Andrés Mignucci (1957–2022), architect, urbanist; Fellow of the American Institute of Architects; Henry Klumb Award 2012[52]
Antonio Miró Montilla (born 1937), architect, educator; first architect appointed head of a government agency, the Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority, 1969 to 1971; first dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, 1971 to 1978; Chancellor of the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, 1978 to 1985[53]
Antonin Nechodoma (1877–1928), Czech architect working in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic at the turn of the 20th century; major works include the Georgetti Mansion, the Casa Korber in Miramar, and Casa Roig in Humacao[54]
Jack Agüeros (1934–2014), author, playwright, poet and translator[58]
In the Heights; winner of 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; her play, Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007 and has been performed around the country and in Romania and Brazil[59]
Alejandrina Benítez de Gautier (1819–1879), poet whose collaboration with the "Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño" (collection of Puerto Rican poetry) gave her recognition as a great poet[68]
Tomás Blanco (1896–1975), writer and historian; author of Prontuario Historico de Puerto Rico and El Prejuicio Racial en Puerto Rico (Racial Prejudice in Puerto Rico)[69]
Juan Boria (1906–1995), Afro-Caribbean poet, also known as the Negro Verse Pharaoh; known for his Afro-Caribbean poetry[70]
Manuel Corchado y Juarbe (1840–1884), poet, journalist and politician; defended the abolition of slavery and the establishment of a University in Puerto Rico[80]
Juan Antonio Corretjer (1908–1985), poet, journalist and pro-independence political activist (member of the Nationalist Party) who opposed United States rule in Puerto Rico[81]
D
Tony Award-winning playwright who is best known for the worldwide musical hit A Chorus Line[82]
José Antonio Dávila (1898–1941), well-known poet during Puerto Rico's postmodern era of poetry
Virgilio Dávila (1869–1943), poet, considered by many to be one of Puerto Rico's greatest representatives of the modern literary era[83]
Eugenio María de Hostos (1839–1903), wrote La Peregrinación de Bayoán, the founding text of Puerto Rican literature (see also "Educators" and "Politicians")[85][86]
Caridad de la Luz (born 1977), a.k.a. "La Bruja", poet; writer/actor of Boogie Rican Blvd[87]
Nelson Denis (born 1955), author, novelist; Editorial Director of El Diario La Prensa
Héctor Feliciano (born 1952), author; his book The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy to Steal the World's Greatest Works of Art has shed light on an estimated 20,000 looted works; each one is owned by a museum or a collector somewhere[92]
Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican writer, poet; African diaspora scholar; founder of Voices for the Voiceless[94]
Carlos Fonseca Suárez (born 1987), Costa Rican-Puerto Rican writer and academic; works include the novels Colonel Lágrimas, Museo animal, and Austral[95]
Félix Franco Oppenheimer (1912–2004), poet and writer; works include Contornos, Imagen y visión edénica de Puerto Rico, and Antología poética[96]
Aurora Levins Morales (born 1954), writer and poet; author of Medicine Stories (1998) and Remedios: Stories of Earth and Iron from the History of Puertorriqueñas (1998)[110]
Teresita A. Levy, author of The History of Tobacco Cultivation in Puerto Rico, 1898–1940, a study of the tobacco-growing regions in the eastern and western highlands of Puerto Rico from 1898 to 1940[111][112]
Hugo Margenat (1933–1957), poet; founder of the political youth pro-independence organizations Acción Juventud Independentista and Federación de Universitarios Pro Independencia[117]
René Marqués (1919–1979), playwright; wrote La Carreta (The Oxcart), which helped secure his reputation as a leading literary figure in Puerto Rico[118]
Nancy Mercado (born 1959), poet, playwright; author of It Concerns the Madness, seven theatre plays, and a number of essays; her work has been extensively anthologized[123]
Pedro Mir (1913–2000), Poet Laureate of the Dominican Republic (Puerto Rican mother)[124]
El Barrio and of the difficulties Puerto Rican women face in the United States;[125][126] in 1973, became the first Hispanic woman in modern times to have her literary works published by the major commercial publishing houses; has had the longest career as a creative writer for these publishing houses of any Hispanic female writer[103]
Richie Narvaez (born 1965), short story writer and novelist, author of Hipster Death Rattle (2019) and Noiryorican (2020)[128]
Mercedes Negrón Muñoz (1895–1973), a.k.a. "Clara Lair"; poet whose work dealt with the everyday struggles of the common Puerto Rican[129]
O
Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952–2016), poet, writer and essayist; in 1994, became the first Hispanic to win the O. Henry Prize for her story "The Latin Deli"; in 1996, she and illustrator Susan Guevara became the first recipients of the Pura Belpre Award for Hispanic children's literature[103][130]
Micol Ostow (born 1976), author of Mind Your Manners, Dick and Jane and Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa[131]
Antonio S. Pedreira (1899–1939), writer and educator whose most important book was Insularismo, in which he explores the meaning of being Puerto Rican[135]
Madison Anderson Berrios won the Miss Universe Puerto Rico title in 2019. On the 8th of December 2019, she won the spot of the first runner-up of Miss Universe 2019.[162]
Marisol Malaret (born 1949), first Puerto Rican Miss Universe, 1970
Marisol Maldonado
(born 1970), fashion model
Melissa Marty (born 1984), Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008
Miriam Pabón (born 1985), beauty queen, first contestant in half a century to represent Puerto Rico in the Miss America pageant[163]
(born 1950), first Puerto Rican and first Hispanic woman to hold a sub-cabinet-level position in the White House (Small Business Administrator 1997–2000)
José Berrocal (1957–2000), youngest president of PR Government Development Bank; annual scholarships are awarded in his memory
Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo; called "the first Puerto Rican-born billionaire" by Forbes[167]
Rafael Carrión Sr. (1891–1964), patriarch of one Puerto Rico's financial dynasties; a founding father of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the largest bank in Puerto Rico and the largest Hispanic bank in the United States[168]
Arturo L. Carrión Muñoz (born 1933), former executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Bankers Association
Ramiro L. Colón (1904–1983), first administrator of Cooperativa de Cafeteros de Puerto Rico, Café Rico (official coffee of the Vatican)
Francisco J. Collazo (born 1931), founder of COLSA Corporation, a first-rate provider of engineering and support services in Huntsville, Alabama[169]
GlaxoSmithKline, member of the global Corporate Executive Team; co-chairs the Portfolio Management Board, along with the Chairman of Research and Development[170]
José Ramón Fernández (1808–1883), "Marqués de La Esperanza", the wealthiest sugar baron in Puerto Rico in the 19th century; considered one of the most powerful men of the entire Spanish Caribbean[172]
Jaime Fonalledas (born 1946), President and CEO of Empresas Fonalledas, which owns Plaza Las Américas, the largest shopping mall in the Caribbean and one of the top retail and entertainment venues in the world; Fonalledas' companies include Plaza Del Caribe, Tres Monjitas, Vaqueria Tres Monjitas, Ganaderia Tres Monjitas, and franchise Soft & Creamy[173]
Wilbert Parkhurst, in 1921, founded Empresas La Famosa, Inc., a fruit processing company that by 1971 consisted of Frozen Fruits Concentrates, Inc., Toa Canning Co., La Concentradora de Puerto Rico and Bayamón Can Company
Rafael Pérez Perry (1911–1978), in 1960 founded television channel 11, also known as Telecadena Pérez Perry, and became known as Tele Once in 1986[179]
Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment; the highest profile Latina in network television and one of the few executives who has the power to greenlight series[182]
Cervecería India, Inc. and the Puerto Rican winter baseball league; owner of the Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians)[183]
Camalia Valdés (born 1972), President and CEO of Cerveceria India, Inc., Puerto Rico's largest brewery[184]
Salvador Vassallo (1942–2007), founder of Vassallo Industries Inc. and subsidiaries[185]
Richard Velázquez (born 1973), businessman and community leader; former President of NSHMBA Puerto Rico; co-founder and former President of NSHMBA Seattle;[186] first Puerto Rican automotive designer for Porsche,[187] first Puerto Rican product planner for Xbox 360[citation needed]
María Vizcarrondo-De Soto (born 1951), first woman and Latina to become the President and CEO of the United Way of Essex and West Hudson[188]
Mariana Bracetti (1825–1903) a.k.a. "Brazo de Oro" ("Golden Arm"), political activist; leader of the Lares's Revolutionary Council during the Grito de Lares; knit the first flag of the future Republic of Puerto Rico
Mathias Brugman (1811–1868), political activist; leader of the Grito de Lares; founded the first revolutionary committee in the City of Mayagüez; his revolutionary cell was code named "Capa Prieta" (Black Cape)
María Cadilla (1884–1951), women's rights activist; one of the first women in Puerto Rico to earn a doctoral degree
Luisa Capetillo (1879–1922), labor activist; one of Puerto Rico's most famous labor organizers; writer and an anarchist who fought for workers and women's rights
Tito Kayak (born 1958), political activist; gained notoriety when a group of Vieques natives and other Puerto Ricans began protesting and squatting on U.S. Navy bombing zones after the 1999 death of Puerto Rican civilian and Vieques native David Sanes, who was killed during a U.S. Navy bombing exercise[206][207][208][209][210][211][212]
Sylvia del Villard (1928–1990), Afro-Puerto Rican activist, founder of the Afro-Boricua El Coquí Theater; an outspoken activist who fought for the equal rights of the Black Puerto Rican artist; in 1981, she became the first and only director of the Office of Afro-Puerto Rican Affairs of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (Puerto Rican Institute of Culture) (see also "Actresses")
Isabel González (1882–1971), civil rights activist; young Puerto Rican mother who paved the way for Puerto Ricans to be given United States citizenship[213]
Lillian López (1925–2005), librarian and labor activist; founder of the New York Public Library South Bronx Project; advocate for library and education services for Spanish-speaking communities[214]
Ana María O'Neill (1894–1981), women's rights activist and educator; in 1929, became the first female professor in the field of commerce in the University of Puerto Rico, which she taught until 1951; urged women to participate in every aspect of civic life and to defend their right to vote[220]
Manuel Olivieri Sánchez (1888–?), civil rights activist; court interpreter and a civil rights activist who led the legal battle which granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans living in Hawaii[221]
César A. Perales (born 1940), civil rights lawyer; founder of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (now LatinoJustice PRLDEF); won precedent-setting lawsuits combating discrimination; New York Secretary of State[226]
Presidential Citizen's Medal; credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the US, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East[229]
(see also "Educators" and "Scientists")
El Grito de Lares
revolt against Spanish colonial rule
Ana Roque (1853–1933), women's rights activist, educator and suffragist; one of the founders of the University of Puerto Rico[230]
Soraya Santiago Solla (1947–2020), transgender activist; first person in Puerto Rico to change the gender designation on their birth certificate following gender reassignment surgery[231]
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874–1938), civil rights and pro-independence activist; pioneer in black history who helped raise awareness of the contributions by Afro-Latin Americans and Afro-Americans to society[232]
Marcos Xiorro, house slave; in 1821, planned and conspired to lead a slave revolt against the sugar plantation owners and the Spanish Colonial government in Puerto Rico[234]
Nationalists
Political activists who were members of the
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
:
Elías Beauchamp (1908–1936), political activist and nationalist; in 1936, assassinated Elisha Francis Riggs, the United States-appointed police chief of Puerto Rico; considered a hero by the members of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement[235]
Blanca Canales (1906–1996), political activist; nationalist leader who led the Jayuya Uprising in 1950 against US colonial rule of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
and advocate of Puerto Rican independence who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954
President Harry S. Truman
Rosa Collazo (1904–1988) a.k.a. Rosa Cortéz Collazo, political activist and treasurer of the New York City branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party[236]
Raimundo Díaz Pacheco (1906–1950), political activist; Commander-in-Chief of the Cadets of the Republic (Cadetes de la República), a quasi-military organization and official youth organization within the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party[237]
Andrés Figueroa Cordero (1924–1979), political activist; member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party; one of four nationalists who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954[238]
Irvin Flores Ramírez (1925–1994), political activist; Nationalist leader and activist; one of four nationalists who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954[239]
Lolita Lebrón (1919–2009), political activist; Nationalist leader and activist; the leader of four nationalists who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954[239]
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolt of 1950[240]
Isolina Rondón (1913–1990), political activist and Treasurer of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party; one of the few witnesses of the October 24, 1935 killing of four Nationalists by local police officers in Puerto Rico during a confrontation with the supporters of the Nationalist Party, known as the Río Piedras massacre[241]
Hiram Rosado (1911–1936), political activist and nationalist; in 1936 participated in the assassination of Elisha Francis Riggs, the United States-appointed police chief of Puerto Rico; he and his comrade Elías Beauchamp are considered heroes by the members of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement[235]
Isabel Rosado (1907–2015), political activist; imprisoned multiple times[242]
Vidal Santiago Díaz (1910–1982), political activist; barber of Pedro Albizu Campos and uncle of the novelist Esmeralda Santiago; made Puerto Rican media history when numerous police officers and National Guardsmen attacked him at his barbershop during the 1950 Nationalist Revolt; this was the first time in Puerto Rican history that such an attack was transmitted via radio to the public[243]
President Harry S. Truman
in 1950
Carlos Vélez Rieckehoff (1907–2005), political activist, former President of the New York chapter of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in the 1930s; in the 1990s was among the pro-independence activists who protested against the United States Navy's use of his birthplace, Vieques, as a bombing range[244]
Olga Viscal Garriga (1929–1995), political activist, member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party; in the late 1940s became a student leader at the University of Puerto Rico and spokesperson of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party's branch in Río Piedras[245]
Clergy, religion
Painting of Santa Rosa de LimaPainting of Alejo de Arizmendi
Glenn Monroig (born 1957), composer, singer; sang the first rap song in Spanish
Andy Montáñez
(born 1942), salsa singer
David Morales (born 1962), deejay, composer, and music producer[289]
Florencio Morales Ramos (1915–1989), a.k.a. "Ramito", composer of plenas and one of the foremost singers of música jíbara; composed "Que Bonita Bandera", which, on March 19, 2009, served as the wake-up call for Puerto Rican astronaut Joseph M. Acaba and the crew aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle[290]
Mark Morales (born 1960), a.k.a. "Prince Markie Dee", rapper, and producer
Noro Morales (1911–1964), pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader
Carli Muñoz (born 1948), pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and producer[291]
Rafael Muñoz (1900–1961), orchestra leader; in 1934, he composed the musical score for Romance Tropical, the first Puerto Rican movie with sound and the second Spanish movie with sound in the world[292]
(born 1978), Spanish pop singer; cousin of Benicio del Toro
Miguel Poventud (1942–1983), a.k.a. "El Nino Prodigio de Guayama" and "Miguelito"; musician, singer and composer of boleros[297]
Tito Puente (1923–2000), musician, composer, arranger and producer, a.k.a. the "King of Latin Music" or "the Mambo King"
Q
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (born August 21, 1996)[5] is a track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles; at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, became the first Puerto Rican of Afro-Latino descent and the second person representing Puerto Rico to win a gold medal
Ismael Quintana (1937–2016), salsa singer, lead vocalist with Eddie Palmeri's original band La Perfecta
Tomás Rivera Morales (1927–2001), a.k.a. "Maso Rivera", composer; child music prodigy who composed over 1,000 instrumental compositions for the cuatro, among which he treasured the waltz; considered to be a virtuoso cuatrista
Augusto Rodríguez (1904–1993), composer and chorus director; founder of the choir of the University of Puerto Rico
Chino Rodriguez (born 1954), salsa musician, trombonist, composer, artist manager, producer, talent agent; founder of Oriente Music Group and Latin Music Booking (Puerto Rican mother, Chinese father)[299]
Daniel Rodríguez (born 1964), former police officer turned operatic tenor
Julito Rodríguez (1925–2013), singer and leader of one of the most important tríos
Lalo Rodríguez (born 1958), salsa singer; was part of the first two records to win the first two Latin Grammy Awards; first artist to sell over one million salsa records in Spain
Pellin Rodríguez (1926–1984), salsa singer; member of the musical group El Gran Combo[300] was related to Gilberto Concepción de Gracia, founder of the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Independence Party)
Jimmy Sabater Sr. (1936–2012), musician; three-time winner of the ACE Awards[302]
Menudo
Bobby Sanabria (born 1957), Latin jazz musician, drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, 8X Grammy nominee as a leader, educator, documentary film producer[303]
Rafael CorderoEugenio María de HostosAngel M. RamosDrawing of Angelo Falcón
Ursula Acosta, educator; one of the founding members of the Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía (Puerto Rican Genealogical Society)[331]
Alfredo M. Aguayo, educator and writer; established the first laboratory of child psychology at the University of Havana[332]
Carlos Albizu Miranda, psychologist, educator; first Hispanic educator to have a North American university renamed in his honor and one of the first Hispanics to earn a PhD in psychology in the US[333]
Margot Arce de Vázquez, educator; founder of the department of Hispanic studies in the University of Puerto Rico
Jaime Benítez, former resident commissioner; longest-serving chancellor and president of the University of Puerto Rico
Frank Bonilla, educator; academic who became a leading figure in Puerto Rican studies[334]
Venezuelan oil industry
Carlos E. Chardón Palacios, first Puerto Rican mycologist and first Puerto Rican appointed as chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico
Carlos A. Chardón López, educator and public administrator; the only Puerto Rican to serve twice as Puerto Rico Secretary of Education
Edna Coll, educator and author; president of the Society of Puerto Rican Authors in San Juan; founder of the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico[335]
Celestina Cordero, educator; in 1820, founded the first school for girls in Puerto Rico[336]
Rafael Cordero, educator; declared venerable in 2004 by Pope John Paul II; the process for beatification is now in motion with Benedictine Fr. Oscar Rivera as Procurator of the Cause[citation needed
Eugenio María de Hostos, educator; in Peru, he helped to develop that country's educational system and spoke against the harsh treatment given to the Chinese who lived there. He stayed in Chile from 1870 to 1873. During his stay there, he taught at the University of Chile and gave a speech titled "The Scientific Education of Women;" he proposed that governments permit women in their colleges; soon after, Chile allowed women to enter its college educational system (see also "Politicians" and "Authors).
Angelo Falcón, political scientist; author of Atlas of Stateside Puerto Ricans (2004); co-editor of Boricuas in Gotham: Puerto Ricans in the Making of Modern New York City (2004)
Megh R. Goyal, professor, historian, scientist; "father of irrigation engineering in Puerto Rico"; professor in agricultural and biomedical engineering at University of Puerto Rico[339]
Sonia Gutierrez, American educator and Hispanic rights activist; principal, counselor and advocate for adult students at the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, an adult charter school in Washington, D.C.
Ingrid Montes, educator, professor of chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras[341]
Antonio Miró Montilla, architect, educator; first architect appointed head of a government agency, the Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority, 1969–71; first dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, 1971–78; chancellor of the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, 1978–85[53]
Ángel Ramos, educator; superintendent of the Sequoia Schools for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; one of the few deaf Hispanics to earn a doctorate from Gallaudet University[343]
Havidan Rodriguez, educator and scholar; president of the University at Albany, SUNY, 2017–present;[344] first Latino/Hispanic President of any four-year SUNY institution[345]
Ana Roque, educator and suffragist; one of the founders of the University of Puerto Rico[346]
Lolita Tizol, early 1900s educator; at a time when most people in Ponce, as most of Puerto Rico, did not know how to read and write, and when teachers were paid only $50 per month, even in the large cities, Tizol took it upon herself to overcome all challenges to help others[350]
Nilita Vientós Gastón, educator; first female lawyer to work for the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico; defended the use of the Spanish language in the courts of Puerto Rico, before the Supreme Court, and won
Mariano Villaronga Toro, educator and public servant; first commissioner of public instruction after the creation of the Estado Libre Asociado; instituted the use of Spanish as the official language of instruction in the Puerto Rico public education system, displacing English, which had been pushed by the US-appointed colonial governors[351]
Pedro Pierluisi, the 14th Governor of Puerto Rico (2021–Present)
First Ladies of Puerto Rico
Further information:
First Ladies and Gentlemen of Puerto Rico
First Lady or First Gentleman of Puerto Rico, a.k.a. Primera Dama o Primer Caballero de Puerto Rico in Spanish, is the official title given by the government of Puerto Rico to the spouse of the governor of Puerto Rico or the relatives of the governor, should the holder be unmarried. The governor's spouse leads the Office of the First Lady or First Gentleman of Puerto Rico. The position of First Lady or First Gentleman carries no official duty and receives no compensation for their service. They generally oversee the administration of La Fortaleza, the mansion that serves as the governor's residence and office. They also organize events and civic programs, and typically get involved in different charities and social causes.[355][356]
Inés Mendoza, First Lady of Puerto Rico (1949–1965); revered teacher and cultural leader
Salvador BrauTony Santiago Rodríguez, a.k.a. Tony "the Marine" Santiago
Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra
, first historian (Spanish) to extensively document Puerto Rico's history, nationality and culture
Delma S. Arrigoitia, historian, author; first person in the University of Puerto Rico to earn a master's degree in the field of history; in 2010, her book, Puerto Rico Por Encima de Todo: Vida y Obra de Antonio R. Barceló, 1868–1938, was recognized among the best in the category of "research and criticism" and awarded a first place prize by the Ateneo Puertorriqueño[357]
Francisco Lluch Mora, known for his legendary book Orígenes y Fundación de Ponce y Otras Noticias Relativas a su Desarrollo Urbano, Demográfico y Cultural (Siglos XVI-XIX)[358]
Antonio Cortón, late 19th century writer, journalist, literary critic, and editor of newspaper in Barcelona, Spain; wrote Las Antillas and the biography of José de Espronceda, a 19th century poet[369]
Angel G. Hermida, Superior Court Judge, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (1976–1997); visiting professor in Comparative Law at Boston University (1984); Chief Clerk of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (1974–1976); Physics professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (1964–1966); author of MIRIAM J. RAMÍREZ DE FERRER Recurrente Vs. JUAN MARI BRAS, which decided that citizens of Puerto Rico have a right to vote in Puerto Rican elections, whether or not they are citizens of the United States[389]
Federico Hernández Denton, former Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court; Puerto Rico's first Consumer Affairs Secretary
Erick Kolthoff, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico; first Puerto Rican of African descent to be named Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico[390]
Maite Oronoz Rodriguez, first openly LGBTQ female Chief Justice in United States history, the third woman to preside the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and the youngest person to do so[392]
Victor Manuel Pons Núñez, Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1985 until 1992; former Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1973 until 1974[393][circular reference
Sonia Sotomayor, first Puerto Rican woman to serve as an (2nd Cir.) U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge and first Hispanic to be nominated and confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
José Trías Monge, former Chief Justice, Attorney General of Puerto Rico, author
Briana's Law – Briana Ojeda was an 11-year-old girl who died in the summer of 2010 when a police officer did not perform CPR on her after she suffered from an asthma attack. Briana's Law, which requires that every police officer and member of the State Police, including police officer trainees and state police cadets, receive CPR training prior to employment as well as during employment every two years, was named in her honor.[398]
Gonzales v. Williams – Isabel González was a Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans to be given United States citizenship. González challenged the Government of the United States in the groundbreaking case Gonzales v. Williams (192 U.S. 1 (1904)). Her Supreme Court case is the first time that the Court confronted the citizenship status of inhabitants of territories acquired by the United States. González actively pursued the cause of U.S. citizenship for all Puerto Ricans by writing letters published in The New York Times.[399]
Carlos M. Rivera, former Fire Commissioner of the City of New York; first Hispanic commissioner in the New York City Fire Department's 127-year history[409]
Juan de Amézqueta, Captain, Puerto Rican Militia; defeated Captain Balduino Enrico (Boudewijn Hendricksz), who in 1625 was ordered by the Dutch to capture Puerto Rico[411]
18th century
Rafael Conti, Colonel, Spanish Army; in 1790, captured 11 enemy ships involved in smuggling stolen goods. In 1797, he helped defeat Sir Ralph Abercromby and defend Puerto Rico from a British invasion in his hometown, Aguadilla. In 1809, he organized a military expedition fight with the aim of returning Hispaniola, which now comprise the nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, back to Spanish rule.[412]
Arecibo in 1702 from an invasion by defeating the British; was awarded La Medalla de Oro de la Real Efigie (The Gold Medal of the Royal Image), by King Philip V of Spain and given the title "Captain of Infantry"[413]
José and Francisco Díaz, Sergeants, Puerto Rican militia; cousins in the Toa Baja Militia who helped defeat Sir Ralph Abercromby and defend Puerto Rico from a British invasion in 1797[414]
Miguel Henríquez, Captain, Spanish Navy; in 1713, defeated the British in Vieques and was awarded the La Medalla de Oro de la Real Efigie (The Gold Medal of the Royal Effigy)[415]
Field Marshal in the Spanish Army; first Puerto Rican to be awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand – Spain's version of the Medal of Honor); elected as delegate to the Spanish Courts in representation of Puerto Rico[419]
Luis Padial, Brigadier General, Spanish Army; in 1863, his battalion was deployed with the intention of "squashing" a pro-independence rebellion in the Dominican Republic, in which he was wounded; played an essential role in the abolishment of slavery in Puerto Rico
Ramón Power y Giralt, Captain, Spanish Navy; distinguished naval officer who from 1808 to 1809 led the defense of the Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) against an invasion from Napoleon's French forces by enforcing a blockade in support of the Spanish ground troops[420]
Ángel Rivero Méndez, Captain, Spanish Army; fired the first shot against the United States in the Spanish–American War in Puerto Rico; later invented Kola Champagne, a soft drink[421]
Augusto Rodríguez, Lieutenant, United States Union Army; member of the 15th Connecticut Regiment (a.k.a. Lyon Regiment); served in the defenses of Washington, D.C.; led his men in the Battles of Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork in the American Civil War[423]
Manuel Rojas, Commander in Chief of the Puerto Rican Liberation Army; on September 28, 1868, he led 800 men and women in a revolt against Spanish rule and took the town of Lares in the Grito de Lares[424]
José Semidei Rodríguez, Brigadier General, Cuban Liberation Army; fought in Cuba's War of Independence (1895–1898); after Cuba gained its independence he continued to serve there as a diplomat[425]
Siege of Saragossa; joined the Mexican Revolutionary Army headed by Agustín de Iturbide and was named Chief of Staff; successfully fought for Mexico's independence from Spain; fought alongside Simón Bolívar and helped liberate South America from Spanish Colonial rule; known as the "Puerto Rican Liberator"[426]
20th century
Ricardo Aponte, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force; fighter pilot in F-111s, politico-military affairs, former Director of the Innovation and Experimentation Directorate, United States Southern Command; first Puerto Rican to hold this position[427]
Joseph (José) B. Aviles Sr., CWO2, U.S. Coast Guard; on September 28, 1925, became the first Hispanic Chief Petty Officer in the United States Coast Guard; during World War II received a wartime promotion to Chief Warrant Officer, becoming the first Hispanic to reach that level as well[429]
Rafael Celestino Benítez, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy; a highly decorated submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS Cochino, which was involved in the first American undersea spy mission of the Cold War[430]
Carlos Betances Ramírez, Colonel, U.S. Army; first Puerto Rican to command a battalion in the Korean War; in 1952, he assumed the command of the 2nd Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment[431]
Modesto Cartagena, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army; the most decorated Hispanic soldier in history; distinguished himself in combat during the Korean War as a member of Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry and is being considered for the Medal of Honor[434]
Félix Conde Falcón, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army; received the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 18, 2014, for his courageous actions while serving as an acting Platoon Leader in Company D, 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division during combat operations against an armed enemy in Ap Tan Hoa, Republic of Vietnam on April 4, 1969[436]
Carmen Contreras-Bozak, Tech4, U.S. Women's Army Corps; first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps; served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions during World War II[437]
Virgilio N. Cordero Jr., Brigadier General, U.S. Army; a Battalion Commander of the 31st Infantry Regiment who documented his experiences as a prisoner of war and his participation in the infamous Bataan Death March of World War II.[438]
Juan César Cordero Dávila, Major General, U.S. Army; commanding officer of the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War, thus becoming one of the highest ranking ethnic officers in the Army[439]
Encarnación Correa, Sergeant, U.S. Army; the person who fired the first warning shots in World War I on behalf of the United States against a ship flying the colors of the Central Powers, when on March 21, 1915, under the orders of then-Lieutenant Teófilo Marxuach, he manned a machine gun and opened fire on the Odenwald, an armed German supply ship trying to force its way out of the San Juan Bay[440]
Abraham Lincoln International Brigade; first Puerto Rican and one of the first U.S. citizens to fight and to die in the Spanish Civil War against General Francisco Franco and the Spanish Nationalists[443]
Alberto Díaz Jr., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy; first Hispanic to become the Director of the San Diego Naval Medical District[444]
Salvador E. Felices, Major General, U.S. Air Force; first Puerto Rican general in the U.S. Air Force; in 1953, he flew in 19 combat missions over North Korea during the Korean War; in 1957, he participated in a historic project that was given to Fifteenth Air Force by the Strategic Air Command headquarters known as "Operation Power Flite", the first around the world non-stop flight by all-jet aircraft[446]
Fernando Luis García, Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps; first Puerto Rican awarded the Medal of Honor; posthumously awarded the medal for his actions against enemy aggressor forces in the Korean War on September 5, 1952.[451]
Linda Garcia Cubero, Captain, U.S. Air Force; of Mexican-Puerto Rican heritage; in 1980 became the first female Hispanic graduate of any of the U.S. military academies when she graduated from the United States Air Force Academy[452]
Carmen García Rosado, Private First Class, U.S. Women's Army Corps; was among the first 200 Puerto Rican women to be recruited into the WAC's during World War II; author of Las WACS-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial (The WACs – The participation of the Puerto Rican women in the Second World War), the first book which documents the experiences of the first 200 Puerto Rican women to participate in said conflict as members of the armed forces of the United States[453]
Mihiel Gilormini, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force; World War II hero, recipient of 5 Distinguished Flying Crosses; together with Brig. General Alberto A. Nido and Lt. Col. Jose Antonio Muñiz, founded the Puerto Rico Air National Guard; previously flew for the Royal Canadian Air Force (1941) and the Royal Air Force (1941–1942)[454]
César Luis González, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Force; first Puerto Rican pilot in the United States Army Air Force; first Puerto Rican pilot to die in World War II.[456]
North American Aerospace Defense Command; flew two combat tours in Vietnam during the Vietnam War; in 1980, took command of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)[457]
Haydee Javier Kimmich, Captain, U.S. Navy; highest ranking Hispanic female in the Navy; Chief of Orthopedics at the Navy Medical Center in Bethesda and she reorganized Reservist Department of the medical center during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm[458]
Orlando Llenza, Major General, U.S. Air Force; second Puerto Rican to reach the rank of Major General (two-star General) in the United States Air Force; Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard[459]
Carmen Lozano Dumler, 2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Women's Army Corps; one of the first Puerto Rican women Army officers; in 1944, she was sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to the 161st General Hospital in San Juan[458]
Antonio Maldonado, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force; in 1965, became the youngest person to pilot a B-52 aircraft; his active participation in the Vietnam War included 183 air combat missions[461]
Joseph (José) R. Martínez, Private First Class, U.S. Army; destroyed a German Infantry unit and tank in Tuniz by providing heavy artillery fire, saving his platoon from being attacked in the process; received the Distinguished Service Cross from General George S. Patton, becoming the first Puerto Rican recipient of said military decoration[462]
Lester Martínez López, MPH, Major General, U.S. Army; first Hispanic to head the Army Medical and Research Command[463]
Teófilo Marxuach, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army; fired a hostile shot from a cannon located at the Santa Rosa battery of El Morro fort, in what is considered to be the first shot of World War I fired by the regular armed forces of the United States against any ship flying the colors of the Central Powers,[465] forcing the Odenwald to stop and to return to port where its supplies were confiscated[466]
George E. Mayer, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy; first Hispanic Commander of the Naval Safety Center; led an international naval exercise known as Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2003 from his flagship, the USS Vella Gulf (CG-72); this was the first time in the 31-year history of BALTOPS that the exercise included combined ground troops from Russia, Poland, Denmark and the United States[467]
Angel Mendez, Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps; of Puerto Rican descent; was awarded the Navy Cross in Vietnam and is being considered for the Medal of Honor; saved the life of his lieutenant, Ronald D. Castille, who went on to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania[468]
Enrique Méndez Jr., Major General, U.S. Army; first Puerto Rican to assume the positions of Army Deputy Surgeon General, Commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs[469]
Lost Texas Battalion of the 36th Infantry Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France[470]
José Antonio Muñiz Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force; together with then-Colonels Alberto A. Nido and Mihiel Gilormini, founded the Puerto Rico Air National Guard; in 1963, the Air National Guard Base, at the San Juan International airport in Puerto Rico, was renamed "Muñiz Air National Guard Base" in his honor[471]
William A. Navas Jr., Major General, U.S. Army; first Puerto Rican named Assistant Secretary of the Navy; a veteran of the Vietnam War; nominated in 2001 by President George W. Bush to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)[472]
Juan E. Negrón, Master Sergeant, U.S. Army; received the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 18, 2014, for courageous actions while serving as a member of Company L, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy in Kalma-Eri, Korea, on April 28, 1951[436]
Héctor Andrés Negroni, Colonel, U.S. Air Force; first Puerto Rican graduate of the United States Air Force Academy; a veteran of the Vietnam War; was awarded the Aeronautical Merit Cross, Spai'ns highest Air Force peacetime award for his contributions to the successful implementation of the United States-Spain Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation[473]
Alberto A. Nido, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force; a World War II war hero who together with Lt. Col. Jose Antonio Muñiz, co-founded the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and served as its commander for many years; served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II[474]
Jorge Otero Barreto, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army; with 38 decorations, which includes 2 Silver Star Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals with Valor, 4 Army Commendation medals, 5 Purple Heart Medals and 5 Air Medals, has been called the most decorated Puerto Rican soldier of the Vietnam War.[475]
Dolores Piñero, U.S. Army Medical Corps; despite the fact that she was not an active member of the military, she was the first Puerto Rican woman doctor to serve in the Army under contract during World War I; at first she was turned down, but after writing a letter to the Army Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. she was ordered to report to Camp Las Casas in Santurce, Puerto Rico; in October 1918, she signed her contract with the Army.[476]
C-141 Starlifter aircraft commander and captain at age 22; the only reservist ever to serve as director of mobility forces for Bosnia[477]
Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II[478][479]
Antonio J. Ramos, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force; first Hispanic to serve as commander, Air Force Security Assistance Center, Air Force Materiel Command, and dual-hatted as Assistant to the Commander for International Affairs, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command[480]
Agustín Ramos Calero, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army; with 22 military decorations, was the most decorated soldier in all of the United States during World War II[431]
Paul Lorence, were the only U.S. casualties of Operation El Dorado Canyon[481]
Frederick Lois Riefkohl, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy; born Luis Federico Riefkohl Jaimieson; one of the first Puerto Ricans to graduate from the United States Naval Academy; in World War I became the first Puerto Rican to be awarded the Navy Cross[482]
Rudolph W. Riefkohl, Colonel, U.S. Army; played an instrumental role in helping the people of Poland overcome the 1919 typhus epidemic[483]
Demensio Rivera, Private, U.S. Army; received the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 18, 2014, for his courageous actions while serving as an automatic rifleman with 2d Platoon, Company G, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy in Changyong-ni, Korea on May 23, 1951[436]
Pedro N. Rivera, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force; in 1994, became the first Hispanic to be named medical commander in the Air Force; responsible for the provision of health care to more than 50,000 patients[485]
Horacio Rivero, Admiral, U.S. Navy; in 1964, became the first Puerto Rican and second Hispanic Admiral (four-star) in the U.S. Navy; participated in World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War; commander in 1962 of the American fleet sent by President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis to set up a quarantine (blockade) of the Soviet ships in an effort to stop the Cold War from escalating into World War III[486][487]
Pedro Rodríguez, Master Sergeant, U.S. Army; member of Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry; earned two Silver Stars within a seven-day period during the Korean War[488]
Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam as member of Company B of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division[493]
65th Infantry Regiment, which was conducting security missions in the jungles of Panama[494]
Miguel A. Vera, Private, U.S. Army; was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his courageous actions while serving as an automatic rifleman with Company F, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division in Chorwon, Korea, on September 21, 1952[436]
Humbert Roque Versace, Captain, U.S. Army; of Italian and Puerto Rican descent; posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions while a prisoner of war (POW) during the Vietnam War; first member of the U.S. Army to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions performed in Southeast Asia while in captivity[495]
Marta Carcana, Major General, U.S. Army; in 2015, became the first woman to be named Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard[497]
Iván Castro, Captain, U.S. Army; of Puerto Rican descent; one of three blind active-duty officers who serves in the US Army; the only blind officer serving in the United States Army Special Forces[498]
combat photographer killed in 2013 when a mortar exploded during an Afghan training exercise; she was able to photograph the explosion that killed her and four Afghan soldiers. The 55th Signal Company named their annual competitive award for combat camera work "The Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera (COMCAM) Competition" in her honor.[499][500]
Air Force Combat Action Medal; Commandant of the Pararescue and Combat Rescue Officer School[501]
Olga E. Custodio, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force; first female Hispanic U.S. military pilot; first Latina to complete U.S. Air Force military pilot training; after retiring, became the first Latina commercial airline captain[502]
Emilio Díaz Colón, Major General, U.S. Army; PRNG; first Superintendent of the Puerto Rican Police; served as the Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard[503][504]
Guantanamo, Cuba while simultaneously serving as Assistant Adjutant General (Army) and Deputy Commanding General of the Joint Force Headquarters at San Juan, Puerto Rico[505]
Maritza Sáenz Ryan, Colonel, U.S. Army; of Puerto Ricana and Spanish descent; head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy; first woman and first Hispanic (Puerto Rican and Spanish heritage) West Point graduate to serve as an academic department head; the most senior ranking Hispanic Judge Advocate[507][508]
United Flight 93 by any means necessary, including ramming the aircraft in midair[510]
Noel Zamot, Colonel, U.S. Air Force, a native of Rio Piedras, was the first Hispanic commandant of the Air Force's elite Test Pilot School. He is also a former combat and test aviator with over 1900 hours in B-52, B-1B, B-2A, F-16D and over 20 other aircraft.[511][512]
Irene M. Zoppi, Brigadier General, U.S. Army; first Puerto Rican woman to reach the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army; Deputy Commanding General – Support under the 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade, Maryland; Bronze Star Medal recipient[513][514]
Joseph M. Acaba, scientist, educator, first Puerto Rican astronaut
Carlos Albizu Miranda, psychologist; first Hispanic educator to have a North American university renamed in his honor; one of the first Hispanics to earn a PhD in psychology in the U.S.[333]
archaeologist
and educator; "father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology"
Bailey K. Ashford, author, physician, soldier, and parasitologist; Colonel in the U.S. Army, arrived in Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War and made the island his home; organized and conducted a parasite treatment campaign which cured approximately 300,000 people (one-third of the Puerto Rico population) and reduced the death rate from this anemia by 90 percent[516]
Pedro Beauchamp, surgeon; first Puerto Rican specialist certified by the American Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Board; performed the first in vitro fertilization technique on the island in 1985[517]
Víctor Manuel Blanco, astronomer; in 1959, discovered a "Blanco 1", a galactic cluster;[518] second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, which has the largest 4-m telescope in the Southern Hemisphere;[519] in 1995, the telescope was dedicated in his honor as the "Víctor M. Blanco Telescope", also known as the "Blanco 4m"[520]
Anthony M. Busquets, electronic engineer, aerospace technologist; involved in the development and application of multifunction control/display switch technology in 1983 and development and application of a microprocessor-based I/O system for simulator use in 1984[522]
Carlos E. Chardón, a.k.a. the "father of mycology in Puerto Rico"; first Puerto Rican mycologist; discovered the aphid "Aphis maidis", the vector of the mosaic of sugar cane, in 1922; author of the Chardón Plan; first Puerto Rican to hold the position of Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico[523]
U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers[528]
Manuel de la Pila Iglesias, multi-faceted physician; introduced the first EKG and X-ray machines into Puerto Rico; founded a medical clinic which today houses a respected medical center in Ponce[529]
Rurico Diaz Rivera, cardiologist; first Chief of Medicine at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine; leader in United States research for dengue fever [530]
Alfonso Eaton, mechanical engineer, aerospace technologist; first Puerto Rican to work for NASA[531]
astrophysicist
with NASA; pioneered the development of position-sensitive detectors
Orlando Figueroa, mechanical engineer at NASA; former Director for Mars Exploration and the Director for the Solar System Division in the Office of Space Science; now Director, Applied Engineering & Technology at the NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center; as Director of Engineering he manages the full scope of engineering activities at Goddard[532]
Adolfo Figueroa Viñas, first Puerto Rican astrophysicist at NASA working in solar plasma physics; senior research scientist; involved in many NASA missions such as Wind, SOHO, Cluster and MMS projects[533]
Rosa A. González, registered nurse; founded the Association of Registered Nurses of Puerto Rico; wrote various books related to her field in which she denounced the discrimination against women and nurses in Puerto Rico.[539]
Olga D. González-Sanabria, NASA engineer; highest ranking Hispanic at NASA Glenn Research Center; member of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame[541]
Amri Hernández-Pellerano, NASA engineer; designs, builds and tests the electronics that regulate the solar array power at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center[542]
Gloria Hernandez, physical scientist, aerospace technologist; Science Manager for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment at NASA Langley Research Center; her supersonic aerodynamic research has resulted in economic advances in supersonic flight[543]
Lucas G. Hortas, aerospace engineer and technologist; author and or co-author of over 35 technical papers[544]
July 2009 cyberattacks cyberwar attacks against South Korea.[545]
Ramón E. López, physicist; professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Texas at Arlington; Fellow of the American Physical Society; recipient of the 2002 Nicholson Medal for Humanitarian Service; co-authored a book on space weather, Storms from the Sun[546]
Fernando López Tuero, agricultural scientist and agronomist; discovered the bug (believed at first to be a germ) which was destroying Puerto Rico's sugar canes[547]
Carlos A. Liceaga, electronic engineer, aerospace technologist; leads the development of proposal guidelines, and the technical, management, and cost evaluation of the proposals For the Explorer Program[544]
Ariel Lugo, scientist and ecologist; Director of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, based in Puerto Rico; founding member of the Society for Ecological Restoration; member-at-large of the Board of the Ecological Society of America[548]
Debbie Martínez, computer engineer, aerospace technologist; Flight Systems and Software Branch software manager for the Cockpit Motion Facility at NASA Langley Research Center[550]
Lissette Martinez, electronic engineer, rocket scientist; lead electrical engineer for the Space Experiment Module program at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
nephrologist, educator; author of numerous scientific publications; discovered a natriuretic hormone[551]
Antonio Mignucci, marine biologist, oceanographer; founder of "Red Caribeña de Varamientos"
Mercedes Reaves, research engineer and scientist; responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA Langley Research Center[553]
Ron Rivera, inventor and workshop organizer; invented life-saving water filters based on pottery[554]
Miriam Rodón Naveira, NASA scientist; first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division in the National Exposure Research Laboratory[522]
Miguel Rodríguez, mechanical engineer; Chief of the Integration Office of the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Management Office[556]
Pedro Rodriguez, inventor, mechanical engineer; director of a test laboratory at NASA; invented a portable, battery-operated lift seat for people suffering from knee arthritis[557]
Helen Rodríguez Trías, physician and activist; first Latina president of the American Public Health Association; a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association; recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal[229]
Gualberto Ruaño, biotechnology pioneer and founder of Genomas, Inc.; pioneer in the field of personalized medicine; inventor of a system used worldwide for the management of viral diseases; President and founder of Genomas, a genetics-related company; director of genetics research at Hartford Hospital's Genetic Research Center[560]
Yajaira Sierra Sastre, astronaut; part of a NASA project on astronaut nutrition and health; She will live for four months isolated in a planetary module at a base in Hawaii to simulate life at a future base on Mars[564][565]
Diego R. Solís, physician; performed the first simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant in Puerto Rico[566]
Félix Soto Toro, electrical engineer, astronaut applicant; developed the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (ASPTMS), an electronic 3D measuring system
radioisotope, to be used in clinics and the identification and treatment of the disease which causes heart rheumatism[547]
Fermín Tangüis, scientist, agriculturist and entrepreneur; developed the Tanguis cotton in Peru and saved that nation's cotton industry[568]
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, television and radio host; Puerto Rican mother; director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City; host of the PBS series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage[569]
Politicians
José de Diego – the "father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement"Federico Degetau – writer, author, and resident commissionerPedro Albizu Campos – President and principal leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist PartyNydia Velázquez – Congresswoman from New York City
Eugenio María de Hostos y Bonilla, a.k.a. "El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas" (the Great Citizen of the Americas), educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, and independence advocate
José M. Dávila Monsanto, senator, politician and lawyer; a co-founder of the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico
José de Diego y Martínez, "the father of the Puerto Rican independence movement"; elected to the House of Delegates, the only locally elected body of government allowed by the U.S.; presided 1904–1917[570]
José María Marxuach Echavarría, the only Puerto Rican to serve as the mayor of San Juan under both Spanish and American rule; served in 1897 for the Liberal Reformista Party and 1900–01 for the Puerto Rican Republican Party[571]
Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, political leader; in his early political career favored Puerto Rican statehood and later became an advocate for Puerto Rico's independence and founder of the Independence Party of Puerto Rico[573]
Manuel Zeno Gandía, novelist and leader of cooperative movement in Puerto Rico
20th century
Baltasar Corrada del Río
, former Resident Commissioner 1977–1985; Mayor of San Juan 1985–1989; 1988 NPP gubernatorial candidate, Secretary of State 1992–1995; Supreme Court Justice 1995–2005
Héctor Luis Acevedo; former Mayor of San Juan; 1996 PDP gubernatorial candidate
Pedro Albizu Campos, President and principal leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
José S. Alegría, poet, writer, lawyer and politician; a founding member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and its president from 1928 to 1930[574]
Santos P. Amadeo, "champion of hábeas corpus"; former Senator in the Puerto Rico legislature[575]
Josefina Barceló Bird de Romero (birth name: Maria Antonia Josefina Barceló Bird), elected president of the Liberal Party after her father died in 1938; first woman elected to lead a major political party in Puerto Rico[578]
Antonio Fernós Isern, first Puerto Rican cardiologist and the longest serving Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the United States Congress
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party; changed political ideals and in 1948 was a member of the Partido Estadista Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Statehood Party); the only member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives that year who did not belong to the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), he opposed the PPD's approval of the bill that became the Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law), which violated the civil rights of those who favor(ed) Puerto Rican independence[581]
Maurice Ferre
, former Mayor of Miami, Florida
Fernando Ferrer, former Bronx (New York City) borough president and New York City mayoral candidate
Rogelio Figueroa, 2008 gubernatorial candidate and founder of Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party[582]
Oscar García Rivera Sr., former New York State Assemblyman; in 1937 became the first Puerto Rican elected to public office in the continental U.S.; in 1956, became the first Puerto Rican to be nominated as the Republican candidate for Justice of the City Court[583]
Miguel A. García Méndez, youngest Speaker of the House in Puerto Rico's history; the Mayagüez General Post Office was named after him[584]
María Libertad Gómez Garriga, the only woman in the Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico, formed in 1951; the only woman to sign the 1952 Constitution of Puerto Rico[585][586]
Cleveland Indians baseball player Orlando Cepeda – MLB first baseman, second Puerto Rican in Baseball Hall of FameJ. J. Barea – professional basketball player with the Dallas Mavericks
Isabel Bustamante, Paralympic athlete, first gold medalist for Puerto Rico at a Paralympic or Olympic games competition, gold at the 1988 Women's shot put 1B paralympic competition[633]
, boxer, former world champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, hurdles, won Puerto Rico's second Olympic Gold Medal in the Women's 100m Hurdles in the Olympic games which were celebrated in Tokyo, Japan.[634]
Fernando J. Canales
, swimmer, first Puerto Rican to reach final championships
Pedro Miguel Caratini, baseball player; born in Puerto Rico, "the father of Dominican baseball"
Orlando Cepeda, baseball player, member of Baseball Hall of Fame
Pedro Anibal Cepeda, a.k.a. "Perucho" and "The Bull", baseball player; father of Orlando Cepeda; known as "the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico"[635]
Roberto Clemente, 3,000-hit baseball player, first Puerto Rican member of Baseball Hall of Fame
Rebekah Colberg, known as "the mother of Puerto Rican women's sports"; participated in various athletic competitions in the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games in Panama, where she won gold medals in discus and javelin throw
Carlitos Colon
, former professional wrestler and member of the WWE Hall of Fame
Carly Colón
, professional wrestler
Alex Cora, became the first Puerto Rican to manage a World Series winning team when the Boston Red Sox defeated the LA Dodgers in 2018.[639]
Edwin Díaz, baseball player, Seattle Mariners; by reaching his 50th strikeout in only 25 and a third innings, Díaz became the first pitcher to do so in at least 123 years[642]
E
Ivelisse Echevarría, inducted into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame (2003)
Gigi Fernández, tennis player, in 1992 became the first female athlete from her native Puerto Rico win an Olympic gold medal; first female athlete from Puerto Rico to turn professional;[643] first Puerto Rican woman inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame[644]
Lisa Fernandez, softball player, Olympic gold medalist (Puerto Rican mother)
Orlando Fernández, a.k.a. "the Puerto Rican Aquaman"; swimmer; first Puerto Rican to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar[645]
Ed Figueroa, baseball pitcher, first Puerto Rican to win 20 games in Major League
Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World's oldest living person from December 11, 2006 – January 24, 2007; oldest verified military veteran and Puerto Rican ever
^La Fountain-Stokes, Lawrence. "Entre boleros, travestismos y migraciones translocales: Manuel Ramos Otero, Jorge Merced y El bolero fue mi ruina del Teatro Pregones del Bronx." Revista Iberoamericana 71.212 (July–September 2005): pp. 887–907.
^Rivera Marrero, Mildred (December 10, 2017). "Distinguen el Paseo Puerta de Tierra". El Nuevo Día. El Nuevo Dia. Retrieved February 14, 2018. Arquitecto Segundo Cardona destaca la importancia de la obra y la necesidad de que gobierno y ciudadanos la cuiden
^Mariano G. Coronas Castro, Certifying Official, and Felix J. del Campo, State Historian and Jorge Ortiz, Architect. Puerto Rico Historic Preservation Office. (San Juan, Puerto Rico) April 27, 1987. In National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – Banco Credito y Ahorro Ponceño. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Section 8, p. 3. Listing Reference Number 87001002. June 25, 1987.
^Mariano G. Coronas Castro, Certifying Official; Felix Juan del Campo, State Historian; and Hector F. Santiago, State Architectural Historian, Puerto Rico Historic Preservation Office. (San Juan, Puerto Rico) August 1987. In National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) p. 3. Listing Reference Number 87001826: Residencia Subira/Residencia Frau. October 29, 1987.
^Armando Morales Pares, State Architect, S.H.P.O., Abelardo Gonzalez Aviles, Architect, Centro de Investigaciones Folkloricas de Puerto Rico (Ponce, Puerto Rico), State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. May 18, 1984. In National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form – Villaronga Residence. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) p. 3. Listing Reference Number 84003151. August 24, 1984.
^"Pura Belpré: The Children's Ambassador". In Vicki Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Latina Legacies: Identity, Biography, and Community New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. 148-157
^First page of the newspaper "Primera Hora" of Puerto Rico and subsequent pages 2 through 4. Edition of January 20, 2012. "Newspaper "Primera Hora"
^D'Amore, Anna Maria (2009). Translating Contemporary Mexican Texts: Fidelity to Alterity. New York: Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics. p. 104. In the stakes of literary acclaim and respectability is Giannina Braschi, considered by many to be Puerto Rico's premier poet.
^"PEN: Free Expression/Literature". PEN American Center. November 2012. Giannina Braschi, one of the most revolutionary voices in Latin America today, wrote the postmodern poetry classic Empire of Dreams
^"Giannina Braschi". National Book Festival. Library of Congress. 2012. Braschi, one of the most revolutionary voices in Latin America today is the author of Empire of Dreams.
^"Giannina Braschi: Book Fest 12". National Book Festival Transcript and Webcast. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. September 2012. Giannina Braschi, a poet, essayist and novelist often described as cutting-edge, influential and even revolutionary
^"Rosario Ferré". Ensayistas.org (in Spanish). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Carlos Fonseca."Latin American Literature Today. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^"González, José Luis." Ronald Fernández, Serafín Méndez Méndez, and Gail Cueto. Puerto Rico Past and Present: An Encyclopedia, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 1998. pp. 154–55.
^Aparicio, Frances R. "Victor Hernández Cruz" profile, Heath Anthology of American Literature, Fifth Edition. Paul Lauter, General Editor. Cengage Online Study Center; accessed January 10, 2010.
^Rodríguez-Matos, Carlos Antonio. "Matos-Cintrón, Nemir." In Latin American Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes, ed. David William Foster, pp. 216–17. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994.[ISBN missing]
^Anderson, Kelly. Rosario Morales (Interview).Voices of Feminism Oral History Project. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts; accessed December 15, 2014.
^"Justipreciación de La Obrade Francisco ROjas Tollinchi"; by Ada Hilda Martínez de Alicea; Dept. Estudios Hispánicos Pontificia Universidad Católica de PR.
^ abLassalle, Beatriz (September 1949). "Biografía de Rosario Bellber González Por la Profesora Beatriz Lassalle". Revista, Volume 8, Issue 5 (in Spanish). La Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico. pp. 149, 158.
^ abAsenjo, Conrado, ed. (1942). "Quién es Quién en Puerto Rico". Diccionario Biográfico De Record Personal (in Spanish) (Third edition 1941-42 ed.). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cantero Fernández & Co. p. 33.
^ abKrüger Torres, Lola (1975). Enciclopedia Grandes Mujeres de Puerto Rico, Vol. IV (in Spanish). Hato Rey, Puerto Rico: Ramallo Bros. Printing, Inc. pp. 273–274.
^"Clivilles". Dancemusic.about.com. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^Max Salazar Mambo kingdom: Latin music in New York 2002 "Santitos Colón – On Saturday, February 21, 1998, the renowned balladeer Santos Colón, known as Santitos, died in Puerto Rico. ... Born Ángel Santos Vega Colón in Mayaguez on November 1, 1922, he began singing with the orchestra of Frank Madera..."
^Staff writer(s); no byline (December 28, 2011). "Sand In Your Shoes". Open Library. Retrieved June 8, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Ivette Roman: Circulo."Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, 3rd Encuentro: Globalization, Migration and Public Sphere, Lima, Peru, July 5–13, 2002, retrieved May 12, 2021.
^Evan Bailyn (April 11, 1936). "Jimmy Sabater profile". Music of Puerto Rico. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ResoluciónArchived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Senate of Puerto Rico. Government of Puerto Rico, November 1, 2011; retrieved January 22, 2012.
^La Rebelión del Cacique Agüeybaná II. En Marcha: Organo del Comite Central del Partido Comunista Maxista Leninista de Ecuador. Seccion: Testimonio y Dialéctica. May 8, 2006. p. 1. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
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^Garcia Cubero, Linda. "Punto Final!". Latina Style. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
^Carmen García Rosado, "Las WACS"-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Seginda Guerra Mundial, p. 60; 1ra. Edicion publicada en Octubre de 2006; 2da Edicion revisada 2007; Regitro tro Propiedad Intectual ELA (Government of Puerto Rico) #06-13P-)1A-399
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Martínez, Elena (2016). "Hernández, Victoria (1897–1998), Latin music entrepreneur". In Knight, Franklin W.; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (eds.). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
"1910 U. S. Federal Census, Tamarindo, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico". FamilySearch (in Spanish). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. April 21, 1910. pp. 10A–10B. NARA microfilm publication T624, roll #1757, p. 10A lines 23–25 and on p. 10B lines 26–27. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
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