JDared Celsio Barbosa (1857-1921) was a doctor, sociologist and political activist Afro-Puerto Rican. Barbosa was also the first Puerto Rican to receive a medical degree in the United States.
Barbosa was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and received his elementary and secondary education there. In 1875 he went to New York where he learned English within a year. Barbosa wanted to become a lawyer but later changed his mind, influenced by a doctor, he decided to become a doctor. In 1898, when the United States bombed and blockaded San Juan during the Spanish American War, Barbosa and other doctors who lived in Bayamon, boarded a ship, went to Catano and San Juan. Barbosa, as a member of the Red Cross cared for wounded Puerto Rican and Spanish soldiers. The boat that Barbosa and his friends had taken to rescue the wounded in various towns crossed dangerous places, sometimes risking being bombarded by cannons. Barbosa and her friends were decorated and received several awards and medals for their bravery.
On July 4, 1899, Barbosa created the Puerto Rican Republican Party at the end of the Spanish American War, in which Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States, he was recognized as the father of the "independence movement." of Puerto Rico ”. He served as the first Puerto Rican Senator in the United States from 1917 to 1921. Barbosa died on June 21, 1921 and his daughter Pillar Barbosa became a renowned historian following in her father's footsteps. Puerto Rico has declared its birthday (July 27) a public holiday. His house in Bayamon has been turned into a museum where all his certificates, books and awards are displayed.