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Dr. José Celso Barbosa (1857 – 1921), born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, was a medical doctor, sociologist, and political leader. He was also the first racially-mixed resident to attend Puerto Rico's prestigious Jesuit Seminary.
Barbosa is known as the "Father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico" movement. He formed the pro-statehood Puerto Rican Republican Party on July 4, 1899 as an aftermath of the Spanish-American War in which Puerto Rico became a territory of the U.S..
In 1893, Barbosa founded the first Puerto Rican cooperative and named it "El Ahorro Colectivo". In 1907, he established the newspaper "El Tiempo".
Barbosa held a seat in the Puerto Rican Senate until his death in 1921.
Barbosa's house in Bayamon was converted into a museum in which many of his awards, certificates, books and other artifacts of interest are exhibited.