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Concept
José Celso Barbosa
Summary
José Celso Barbosa Alcala (July 27, 1857 – September 21, 1921) was a Puerto Rican physician, sociologist and political leader. Known as the father of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico, Barbosa was the first Puerto Rican, and one of the first persons of African descent to earn a medical degree in the United States.
After his return to the island in 1880, Barbosa made many contributions to medicine and public health. He initiated an early form of health insurance, encouraging employers to pay a fee to cover future needs of their employees. In 1900 Barbosa was among the first five Puerto Rican leaders appointed to the Executive Cabinet under Governor Charles H. Allen, in the first civilian government organized by the United States. He served in the Cabinet until 1917. From 1917 to 1921, Barbosa served in the first elected Puerto Rican Senate.
Barbosa was born in 1857 in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico to parents of African and European ancestry. He received both his primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico. He was the first person of African ancestry to attend Puerto Rico's prestigious Jesuit Seminary. After graduating from the seminary, Barbosa tutored private students to save money to attend college. In 1875, he moved to New York City to attend prep school, where he learned English in a year.
Originally Barbosa wished to become a lawyer, but after he suffered a bout of pneumonia in New York City, his doctor recommended that he study medicine. In 1877 he applied but was denied admission to the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, due to his race. He then applied and was admitted to the medical school of the University of Michigan, where he graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1880. Barbosa was the first person from Puerto Rico to earn a medical degree in the United States. He returned to Puerto Rico, where he set up a practice in his hometown of Bayamón.
The Spanish colonial government initially did not recognize Barbosa's medical degree, as it was not from a known European university.
Official source
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