Biografias En Ingles ( Ricardo Alegria, Nelson Mandela, Oskar Schindler, Y Martin Luther

Ricardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría (April 14, 1921 – July 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology".

Early Years
Alegría (birth name: Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. He was motivated by his father, José S. Alegría, aformer Vice President and founding member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. His father taught him to love Puerto Rico and to be proud of its history and culture. In 1941 at the University of Puerto Rico, he founded the Puerto Rican Fraternity Alpha Beta Chi in search of a fraternity that based its principles in equality, fairness and acceptance of all that wanted to join. In 1942, Alegríaearned his Bachelors of Science degree in archeology from the University of Puerto Rico. He continued his academic education in the University of Chicago where in 1947 he earned his Masters in Anthropology and History. In 1954, Alegría earned his PhD. (doctorate) in Anthropology from Harvard University.


Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
Alegría was named the first director of the Institute ofPuerto Rican Culture by Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first elected governor. He was responsible for the creation of the "Archaeological Center of Investigation of the University of Puerto Rico". Alegría also created the "Center of Popular Arts of the Puerto Rican Cultural Institute", the program of publication of books of the institute, and created the logo for the Institute of Neurobiology inPuerto Rico.

Alegría was responsible for the renovation and restoration of historical Old San Juan under the leadership of then San Juan mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier. He is also responsible for the restoration of the ruins of "Caparra" and "Fort San Jeronimo". As a result of his work "Old San Juan" was declared a "Historical World Treasure". In 1976, Alegría opened the "Center of AdvancedStudies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean". In 1992, he established the "Museum of the Americas".



Anthropology pioneer

Alegría is credited with being a pioneer in the anthropologic studies of the Taino culture and the African heritage in Puerto Rico. His extensive studies have helped historians understand how the Taínos lived and suffered, before and after the Spanish Conquistadoresarrived in the island. Alegría estimated that about one third of all Puerto Ricans (2 million out of 6 million) have Taíno blood and therefore the Taínos were not completely extinct and some had to survive. Recently, the results of recent DNA studies have proved him right.


Written works
The following is a list of books which Alegría has either authored or co-authored.
"Ball Courts andCeremonial Plazas in the West Indies"
"The three wishes; a collection of Puerto Rican folktales"(1969) ( with Lorenzo Homar)
"History of the Indians of Puerto Rico"
"El Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1955–1973 : 18 años contribuyendo a fortalecer nuestra conciencia nacional"
"Taino: Pre-Columbian Art & Culture from the Caribbean" (with Fatima Bercht and Jose J. Arrom)
"Las primerasrepresentaciones gráficas del indio americano, 1493–1523"
"Descubrimiento, conquista y colonización de Puerto Rico, 1493–1599" (with Mela Pons Alegría)
"Historia y Cultura de Puerto Rico: Desde La Epoca Pre-Colombina Hasta Nuestros Dias"
"Excavations at Maria de La Cruz Cave & Hacienda Grande Village Site, Loiza, Puerto Rico" (with Irving Rouse)
"La vida de Jesucristo según el santeropuertorriqueño Florencio Cabán"
"San Juan de Puerto Rico" (with Manuel Méndez Guerrero and María de los Angeles Castro Arroyo)
"Cafe" (1967)
"Programa De Parques Y Museos Del Instituto De Cultura Puertorriquena" (1973)
"La Fiesta De Santiago Apostol En Loiza Aldea"
"El Fuerte De San Jerónimo Del Boquerón"


Awards and recognitions

In 1993, President Bill Clinton presented Alegría...