Adolfo de Hostos

Who is Adolfo de Hostos?

Adolfo de Hostos served in the mid twentieth century, from January 1936 to 1950, as the fifth Official Historian of Puerto Rico, a position created in March, 1903, by the Puerto Rico Legislature.

De Hostos had served in the Army and as military aide to Gov. Arthur Yeager before his appointment by Gov. Blanton Winship.

His most prominent publication is "Ciudad Murada", the history of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the United States' oldest city.

After his retirement in 1950, the position of Official Historian remained vacant for 43 years, until the Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved in 1993 Senate Concurrent Resolution 14, authored by Sen. Kenneth McClintock, designated Dr. Pilar Barbosa.

De Hostos made an important contribution to pre-Columbian archaeology with his book titled Anthropological Papers: Based Principally on Studies of the Prehistoric Archaeology and Ethnology of the Greater Antilles published in 1941.