Beekman Winthrop

Who was Beekman Winthrop?

Beekman Winthrop was a New York lawyer and Governor of Puerto Rico from 1904 to 1907. He was later an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

The son of Robert Winthrop, Beekman came from a family of wealth and influence in New York and attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he received an undergraduate degree in 1897 and a law degree in 1900. A descendant of both John Winthrop, first Governor of Massachusetts, and John Winthrop, the Younger, first Governor of Connecticut, within four years after graduating he became first a personal secretary to William Howard Taft while he was Governor-General of the Philippines, and later was appointed as a judge in the Court of First Instance in the Philippines. He was known to be a personal friend of Theodore Roosevelt and was appointed by him in 1904 as Governor of Puerto Rico, at the age of only 28.

Winthrop took office as governor on July 4, 1904, and served until April 17, 1907. On his inauguration, he promised improvements to the educational system of Puerto Rico. Winthrop was a strong proponent of bringing citizenship and locally elected officials to Puerto Rico.