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1866–1921 · Aguadilla · Politics • Poetry • Journalism • Law

Jurist, poet, journalist, essayist, orator, politician, and advocate for Puerto Rico's independence, born April 16, 1866, in Aguadilla. Considered a brilliant orator, de Diego was also a major poet, but his lasting political legacy rests on his advocacy for Puerto Rican independence. He was a founder of the Autonomist Party in 1887 and co-founder, with Luis Muñoz Rivera, of the Unionist Party in 1904. His dream was to see the establishment of a confederation of Spanish-speaking islands in the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic.

He served as president of the House of Delegates from 1907 to 1917 and speaker of the House of Representatives from 1917 to 1918. He also helped establish the Colegio de Agricultura y Artes Mecánicas de Mayagüez, now the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. De Diego is remembered as an important figure in both modern Puerto Rican poetry and the island's independence movement. Works such as "A Laura" and "Póstuma" established his reputation as a notable love poet. His poetry books include Pomarrosas (1904), Jovillos (1916), Cantos de Rebeldía (1916), and Cantos del Pitirre, published after his death. He died July 17, 1921, in New York and was buried in San Juan.