Fernando Picó Bauermeister, S.J. (August 15, 1941 – June 27, 2017) was a Puerto Rican

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. Picó was a leading expert on the

history of Puerto Rico The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people before 430 BC. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taíno. The Taíno people's num ...

and was considered an authority on the island's 20th century history. One of his best known works, ''Historia General de Puerto Rico'', is widely utilized in Puerto Rican history

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

. He was a professor of history at the

University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus (; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the University of Puer ...

, from 1972 until his death in 2017.

Biography

Picó was born in

Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...

on August 15, 1941, to Florencio Picó and Matilde Bauermeister Picó. He attended the Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or p ...

in San Juan, from 1954 to 1958. He then received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. In 1959, he entered the Saint Andrew-on-Hudson seminary, a

seminary located in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

, where he studied philosophy and theology. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in history from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1966 and obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1970. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''The Bishops of France in the Reign of Louis IX (1226-70)''. Shortly after, he returned to Fordham to teach Puerto Rican history, which had been demanded by Puerto Rican students but could not be filled with an eligible application. Not knowing much of it, Picó bought volumes of the nation's history from New York bookstore La Libería. On May 22, 1971, Picó was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest and took his final vows on September 14, 1980. Additionally, he studied in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He taught at the Department of History at the

from 1972 and collaborated with the Association of Caribbean Historians until his death in 2017, also being a member of the Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Puertorriqueña (CEREP). Whilst his teachings were in European and medieval history, he began studying the records of Utuado, the primary coffee producing municipality and birthplace of his grandmother. Picó was considered one of the leading authorities on Puerto Rican history. One of his best known publications, "Historia General De Puerto Rico," is a required text in many

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

s on the island. His articles have been published in numerous Puerto Rican, mainland American, and international magazines and newspapers. In 2008, Picó was awarded Eugenio María de Hostos Chair. He wrote the speech commemorating the 169th birthday of

Eugenio María de Hostos Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla (January 11, 1839 – August 11, 1903), known as ("The Great Citizen of the Americas"), was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, novelist, and Puerto Rican ...

, a major figure in 19th century Puerto Rican history, that year. The

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

honored Picó as a distinguished professor in 2010, calling him "the leading authority in the field of 19th century Island historiography, for his innovative projects, approaches, and methodologies." In addition to his work as a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

and historian, Father Picó also authored several children's stories, including "La peinilla colorada." Picó, a humanitarian as well, worked with prison inmates. Picó, who had heart surgery in 2015 and suffered from a stroke in 2016, became ill on June 26, 2017; the following day, he died at the Jesuit residence in

Cupey, San Juan, Puerto Rico Cupey is one of the 18 barrios of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico located in the mountainous area of the municipality. It is the largest barrio or district in the San Juan and the third most populous with 32,833 inhabitants according ...

. On June 30, 2017, a public wake was organized to display his flag-draped coffin at the Tower Rotunda of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. He was survived by two sisters, Matilde Picó and Carmen Picó, and predeceased by his brother, Dr. Jose F. Picó.

Selected works authored

*''Libertad y servidumbre en el Puerto Rico del siglo 19'' (1979) *''Amargo café'' (1981) *''Los gallos peleados'' (1983) *"Registro General de Jornaleros: Utuado, Puerto Rico 1849-50" *"Historia General de Puerto Rico" (1986) *"History of Puerto Rico: A Panorama of Its People" (1986) *''1898: la guerra después la guerra'' (1987) *"Vivir en Caimito" (1989) *"Puerto Rico, tierra adentro y mar afuera" (1991) *"La Peineta Colorada" (''The Red Comb'') (1991) *"Don Quijote en motora y otras andanzas" (1993) *''Al filo del poder: subalternos y dominantes en Puerto Rico, 1739–1910'' (1993) * "El día menos pensado: Historia de los presidiarios en Puerto Rico (1793-1993)" (1994) *"Coffee, Society and Power in Latin America" (1995) *"Puerto Rico 1898: The War After The War" (2003) *"Puerto Rico Inside and Out: Changes and Continuities" (2008) *''One Frenchman, Four Revolutions: General Ferrand and the Peoples of the Caribbean'' (2011) *''Vocaciones caribeñas'' (2013) *"Santurce y las voces de su gente" (2014) *''Puerto Rico y la sequía de 1847'' (2015) *''Universitas Ludens'' (2019)

References

Bibliography

External links

Association of Caribbean Historians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pico, Fernando 1941 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Puerto Rican historians Historians of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Jesuits 20th-century Puerto Rican clergy 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits 21st-century Puerto Rican historians 21st-century American historians American children's writers University of Puerto Rico faculty Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Fordham University alumni Springfield College alumni People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Educators from San Juan, Puerto Rico