Francisco Vassallo | |
|---|---|
| 12th Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico | |
| In office 1 January 1820 –ca. 2 May 1820 [1] | |
| Preceded by | Juan Dávila |
| Succeeded by | Joaquín Martínez |
| 25th Mayor of Ponce,Puerto Rico | |
| In office 1 January 1832 –31 December 1832 | |
| Preceded by | Tomás de Renovales |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Toro |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1789 [2] Orihuela,Valencia,Spain. [3] |
| Died | 20 December 1849 [4] Ponce,Puerto Rico |
| Children | Francisco Vassallo Cabrera [5] |
| Occupation | Military [6] Writer [7] |
Francisco Vassallo [lower-alpha 1] (1789 - 20 December 1849) was Mayor of Ponce,Puerto Rico,in 1820 (ending 2 May 1820 [8] ) and 1832. [9]
Vassallo y Forés [10] had been a soldier in Spain's War of Independence,a conflict between French and Spanish forces that took place from 1807 to 1814. He had been taken prisoner of war in Nantes. He arrived in Puerto Rico in 1816. Once in Puerto Rico,he left the military and immersed himself into writing and politics. Soon after his arrival he married and had a son whom he named Francisco. [11] In 1821 Vassallo was the military commander for Puerto Rico's southern region after Puerto Rico's governor,Brigadier General Gonzalo Arostegui y Herrera,divided the island into five commanding regions. [12]
Vassallo is remembered as the mayor who orchestrated the expulsion out of Puerto Rico of Ponce resident Lorenzo Matias Ras because,after consultation with the other residents of the town,he was considered an "undesirable" person to the community. [13]
On 27 February 1820,a large fire that "almost destroyed the early Ponce settlement" took place,prompting Governor Miguel de la Torre to order that "every male from 16 to 60 years old must become a [volunteer] firefighter". [14] The fire destroyed 106 "of the best homes in town." [15] [16] Also in 1820,the first known division of the Ponce territory into barrios took place. [17] [18] Vassallo ordered the firing of the cannon atop Cerro del Vigía to alert the town dwellers to the fire. The fire was so devastating that 12 days later Puerto Rico governor Salvador Meléndez Bruna ordered the streets in Ponce to be widened before any rebuilding was allowed to begin. [19]
He was mayor from 1 January 1832 until 31 December 1832. Little is known about the administration of the municipality during this second (and last) mayoral term,as there are no Acts in the Municipality of Ponce for that year. [20]
Vassallo Fores died in Ponce on 20 December 1849. [21] There is a street in Urbanización Las Delicias of Barrio Magueyes in Ponce named after him.
Eduardo Neumann Gandía, was one of Puerto Rico's most accomplished historians. He is particularly well known for his nineteenth century book Verdadera y Auténtica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce: desde sus primitivos tiempos hasta la época contemporánea. His father was Guillermo Neumann, who was mayor of Ponce from 23 April 1851 to 30 September 1851. Eduardo Neumann Gandía's most important work was Benefactores y Hombres Notables de Puerto Rico.. Neumann wrote profusely during a period of 30 years, producing some 20 major works plus numerous articles in newspapers and periodicals.
Ricardo Ulpiano Colóm y Ferrer was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, during part of 1898. He was the second of two mayors to lead the municipality of Ponce under the Spanish Crown's "Decreto Autonómico para Puerto Rico", whereby Puerto Rico was granted autonomy by Spain.
Juan Cortada y Quintana was a Puerto Rican politician, businessman, and landowner. He served as Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 27 September 1872 to 4 February 1874.
Juan de Dios Conde was mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1836 and again in 1839.
Alejandro Ramírez y Blanco was a Spanish economist.
Rafael Pujals Cárdenas was a late 19th-century Puerto Rican physician practicing in Ponce, Puerto Rico, that excelled as a civic leader.
José Lloréns Echevarría was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, for three days, from 8 November 1898 to 10 November 1898.
Alejandro Ordóñez was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 3 January 1816 to 31 December 1818. He was a teniente justicia mayor.
José Molina was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1822.
Juan Lacot Feliú was Mayor of the city of Ponce from 1 September 1848 to 30 September 1849.
Francisco Romero was an interim Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1847 and again in 1866.
José Casimiro Ortíz de la Renta was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, during two short periods in 1821.
José de Nouvilas de Vilar was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 3 January 1893 to 9 August 1894. He was a soldier in the Spanish military and held the rank of "General de Brigada".
Francisco José de Mercado was interim mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from early in 1822 to 31 December 1822.
Luis Alvarado y González was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 11 May 1896 to 28 March 1897. He was the commanding officer in town installed by the military government in Puerto Rico at the time (1896).
Carlos Cabrera y Martínez was interim Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1 November 1866 to 19 December 1866. He was interim mayor, together with Francisco Romero, and both performed as interim corregidors until Colonel Enrique O'Neil became the appointed corregidor on 20 December 1866 for the remainder of that year and into 1867.
Tomás Pérez Guerra was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1 January 1826 to 31 December 1826.
Alejandro Albizu was an interim corregidor Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from when interim corregidor Francisco Arce y Romero terminated his mayoral duties around March 1872. He mayored the municipality of Ponce until 26 September 1872.
Miguel Arribas was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 28 July 1871 to 31 December 1871.
