FAQs

When exactly is Albizu’s birthdate?

June 29, 1893, is the birthdate used by Albizu. In Marisa Rosado’s book, she informs that Pedro Albizu Campos had a brother by the same name, born on September 12, 1891. He died young. Pedro Albizu Campos was then born on June 29, 1893. When Albizu’s biological father legally recognized him, he wrote in the margins of the demographic registry book September 12, 1891, as his birthdate. Setting this one legal document aside, it was generally understood by Pedro Albizu Campos, his family, and friends, that he was born on June 29, 1893. This was the date Albizu signed and used for all of his education and university records, the date he used on his sworn bar application to practice law in Puerto Rico, and is the date inscribed on his tombstone. Whenever Albizu spoke of his age, it corresponded with the June 29, 1893 date. However, he also used the September 12, 1891 date too. Marisa Rosado informs in her book that Albizu confided to Juan Antonio Corretjer that his real birthdate was June 29, 1893.

Was Albizu the President of the Cosmopolitan Club at Harvard Law School?

Yes.. The Cosmopolitan Club at Harvard University allowed students to join whether they were undergraduate or graduate students. Pedro Albizu Campos was elected President of the Cosmopolitan Club during his undergraduate senior year at Harvard College (1915-1916) and reelected President during his first year of law school (1916-1917).

Is it true that Albizu Campos spoke eight languages fluently?

Not true. Some writers have stated that Albizu fluently spoke 6, 7, or even 8 languages or so and that two of these languages were Italian and Greek. Let’s look at what Pedro Albizu Campos himself had to say about this. On Page 2 of his application for student work dated May 3, 1916, Pedro Albizu Campos, in his handwriting, informs that he can speak 4 languages (Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese). He also informs that he can read German and Latin. He took German as an elective at the University of Vermont and Harvard College. He took 3 years of Latin in high school as was required as part of the education curriculum during that time period.

Is it true that Albizu Campos had a child out of wedlock?

Yes. Albizu had an on-and-off relationship with Carmen "Lila" Aponte Roubert and from this relationship Hector Manuel Albizu Aponte was born in 1932. When Albizu died, his wife Laura Meneses would then visit Hector and acknowledge that she knew of him. Laura informed Hector that his mother Lila was good to her. Albizu had three children with Laura.

Is it true that Pedro Albizu Campos had top grades at Harvard University?

Not true. Undoubtedly, Pedro Albizu Campos was a brilliant student and had top grades when he graduated from Ponce High School and the University of Vermont during 1912-1913. Upon transferring to Harvard College in 1913, Albizu’s financial woes as a student commenced, severely affecting his grades. Beginning in 1913 and continuing throughout all of his Harvard Law School years ending in 1923, Albizu struggled to maintain his standing as a student with top grades. In his own handwriting in two of his student employment documents located in the archival documents for Harvard College, he states that he obtained a few “C” grades as well as a “D” grade in his undergraduate courses. Publicly, given that Albizu graduated from “Harvard” and “Harvard Law School,” his grades were never questioned, and public access to his archival records was not possible until 2003. Although having top grades does not determine brilliance, Albizu’s brilliance was not deterred by his average and sometimes less-than-average undergraduate and law school grades.

Is it true that Albizu suffered racism and discrimination in the U.S. Army when he was stationed in the south?

Not true. Albizu’s regiment was subscribed to the Black regiment because of segregation during the time. However, he never went to the south of the U.S. He was sent to Camp Las Casas in Puerto Rico. The U.S. Army in Puerto Rico followed the U.S. segregation practices as a policy under U.S. colonial governor Arthur Yager. As such, in Puerto Rico, light skinned Puerto Ricans and dark skinned Puerto Ricans were segregated.

Is it true that a professor denied Albizu the opportunity to take his evidence and corporations exams so that he doesn’t become the valedictorian for his graduating class from Harvard Law School?

Not true. This myth is debunked by reviewing Albizu’s law school transcript card. Albizu was never denied the opportunity to take his evidence and corporations exams. He took evidence with Professor Zechariah Chafee, Jr. and took the final exam twice, once in June 1921 and the second time in June 1922 which he passed on the second attempt. Albizu took corporations with Professor Edward Warren. He took the corporations final exam three times in June 1920, June 1921, and June 1922 and passed on the third attempt. Albizu had other courses he took with Professors Chafee and Warren and successfully passed though. In addition, in 1922, Professor Warren served as interim dean of Harvard Law School during 1921-1922 when Dean Roscoe Pound went on sabbatical. It was Interim Dean Warren that approved Albizu’s request to take the two exams in Puerto Rico. This was the first time that Harvard Law School bent its rules and allowed for final exams to be taken outside of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Is it true that Albizu obtained a chemical engineering degree from Harvard?

Not true. Albizu did not obtain a chemical engineering degree at Harvard College. He obtained a liberal arts degree with chemistry as a leading subject. The study of chemistry and chemical engineering are two different degree types.

In Albizu’s Harvard University Appointment Office Form, Albizu was required to fill in the form in his handwriting with the courses he took at Harvard College. He duly filled in the appropriate sections and the courses he took. Albizu left blank the section for engineering courses because he simply did not take any engineering courses. Furthermore, Harvard University did not have a chemical engineering degree program during this time period. The only engineering sciences courses offered at the undergraduate level at Harvard College were mechanical drawing, stereotomy, surveying, railroad surveying, mechanics, shopwork, power generation and transmission, and generation, transmission, and utilization of electrical energy. If Harvard University had a chemical engineering degree program, this program would have been offered at the Lawrence School, later known as the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Albizu graduated from Harvard College in 1916 with a bachelor of arts degree (B.A. or A.B. in Latin), and this degree is listed on his Harvard Law School (HLS) Attendance Record Card. Had Albizu obtained any other degrees from Harvard University, these would also be listed on his HLS Attendance Record Card. Albizu’s HUA archival documents clearly indicate that Albizu only had two degrees: a bachelor of arts degree and a law school degree.

Is it true that Albizu was the victim of racial discrimination at Harvard Law School and denied the opportunity to take his corporations and evidence exams?

Not totally true. That Albizu experienced racism and discrimination at Harvard University is true. However, he was never denied the opportunity to take his corporations and evidence exams. On the contrary, Albizu’s archival documents demonstrate he was given the opportunity to take the two exams and that he did in fact take the two exams on multiple occasions.

Albizu took the corporations final exam three times: in June 1920, June 1921, and June 1922 when he successfully passed it on the third attempt. He took the evidence exam in June 1921 and June 1922 and passed it on the second attempt. This data is clearly stated in his law school documents.

Is it true that due to racism, Albizu was denied the opportunity to serve as the valedictorian for his graduating class from Harvard Law School?

Not true. The claim that Albizu was denied the opportunity to serve as the valedictorian for his graduating class from HLS is undisputably a myth. All indications are that Albizu did not possess top academic averages and qualifications to be considered the class valedictorian.

Law school education is typically three years absent any departures. Albizu left HLS twice, once for U.S. Army service and the second time when he ran out of finances in 1921. It has already been established that he took the corporations and evidence exams on multiple occasions. The question then arises, “In what year was he graduating in order to be considered the valedictorian?” Completing his final two exams in the summer of 1922, after the June 1922 graduation, he would’ve been considered to be part of the class of 1923.  However, Albizu’s law school grade averages, while commendable, would never have qualified him as a valedictorian contender in any given year. Had he achieved top grades, he would have been considered for the Sears Prize or a Fay Diploma award. Any HLS graduating class valedictorian candidate would’ve been selected from the list of Fay Diploma recipients. Albizu’s grade averages never qualified for these awards.

Is it true that Albizu’s enrollment in the U.S. Army led him to experience racism and segregation, forming the basis of his “hatred” towards the United States?

 Not true. The claim that Albizu’s enrollment in the U.S. Army led him to experience racism and that his military experience was the foundation for his “hatred” towards the United States is a claim that has its origin in the turbulent events of 1950 and 1954.

Prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army, Albizu was undoubtedly exposed to racism and discrimination in New England and at Harvard. The Puerto Rican regiment of the U.S. Army was subscribed to the African-American regiment, which trained in the southern part of the U.S. Albizu never went to the south. He was trained at Camp Las Casas in Puerto Rico. Camp Las Casas in Puerto Rico was segregated between light- and dark-skinned Puerto Ricans. U.S. colonial governor Arthur Yager implemented the “racial” segregation of troops in Puerto Rico for policy consistency. As such, Albizu experienced racial segregation in the U.S. Army while stationed and trained in Puerto Rico.