Jose Celso Barbosa

José Celso Barbosa

Born in Puerto Rico while it was a Spanish colony, Jose Celso Barbosa graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1880.  He was practicing medicine in Puerto Rico when the United States acquired the island in 1898.

On July 4, 1899, Dr. Barbosa established the Puerto Rico Republican Party.  The next year, President William McKinley (R-OH) appointed him to the territorial governor’s advisory council.  In 1917, he was elected to the territorial legislature.

Dr. Barbosa’s birthday is an official holiday in Puerto Rico.