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José Julián Acosta (February 16, 1825 – August 26, 1891) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a distinguished journalist and a fervent advocate of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico.
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Acosta was one of Rafael Cordero's most notable students. It was Rafael Cordero who taught him during his primary and secondary educational years. Rafael Cordero's influence lasted Acosta the rest of his life. Later, he became a protegé of Father Rufo Manuel Fernández, who would be the one to send him to Madrid, Spain to study Pyshic-Mathematics. After he graduated in 1851, Acosta continued to expand his educational knowledge in Paris, London and in Berlin. In Berlin, he was a student of the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt.
When Acosta returned to Puerto Rico, he took a job as a professor of Botany and Maritime Sciences. He became the director of the Civil Institude of Secondary Education. Acosta was also the founder and editor of the newapaper "El Progreso" (Progress) and he colabarated with many other newspapers which were liberal orientated.
In 1867, he was a member of a Puerto Rican commission, which included Segundo Ruiz Belvis and Francisco Mariano Quiñones, that participated in the "Overseas Information Committee" meeting in Madrid, Spain. There, Acosta presented the argument for the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. That same year, while in Madrid, Acosta is made a member of the Royal Spanish Academy of History, for his work in editing of Fiar Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra's "Historia geografica, civil y natural de la isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico" (0847708004).
Upon returning to the island, Acosta, like so many other Puerto Ricans with liberal views, was harshly mistreated by the Spanish governor. After the Grito de Lares in 1868, he was suspected of beign a conspirator and sent imprissoned at the dungeons of Fort San Felipe del Morro by General Pavia, even though he had not participated in the failed revolt. Acosta, would later publish a pamplet titled, "Horas de Prisión" ("Hours of Imprisonment") describing his experiences in prision.
José Julián Acosta became a member of the Liberal Reformist Party. In 1870, he founded the political newspaper, "El Progresso". In 1871 he was elected a representative to the Spanish Courts. In 1873, he became president of the Liberal Reformist Party, but decides to leave the party in 1874, when the Autonomist Party was formed by Roman Baldorioty de Castro.
March 22, 1873 was a great day for Jose Julian Acosta and all the other abolitionists because slavery was finally abolished in Puerto Rico.
José Julián Acosta died on August 26, 1891 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.