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1857–1921 · Bayamón · Politics • Medicine

Born July 27, 1857 in Bayamón. Physician, politician, and founder of the Puerto Rican Republican Party. A gifted mulatto medical doctor, Barbosa is better known as the "Father of the Statehood" for Puerto Rico movement. He formed the pro-statehood Republican Party (July 4, 1899) in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. He was the first black to attend Puerto Rico's prestigious Jesuit Seminary. In 1893, he founded the first Puerto Rican "Cooperativa," named "El Ahorro Colectivo." In 1899, he founded the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, advocating for statehood for the island. In 1907, he established the newspaper "El Tiempo." He was a member of the Executive Cabinet from 1900 to 1917 and held a seat in the Puerto Rican Senate from 1917 until his death on December, 1921 in San Juan.