José Tormos Diego Explained

José Tormos Diego
Order1:121st
Office1:Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Term Start1:1937
Term End1:1941
Predecessor1:Blas Oliveras
Successor1:Andrés Grillasca Salas
Birth Date:2 November 1890[1]
Birth Place:Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Death Date:24 August 1977[2]
Death Place:Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nationality:Puerto Rican
Spouse:Amparo Vega
Children:Carmen Amparo, Nelida Mercedes, Ana Luisa, Aida, José, and Gloria.[3]
Profession:Industrial Engineer[4]

José Valentin Tormos Diego (2 November 1890  - 24 August 1977) was a Puerto Rican politician and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1937 to 1941. He is best remembered for under his administration the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party received a permit for a peaceful march, which resulted in the Ponce massacre by Insular Police under authority supplied by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Governor Blanton Winship.[5] [6] [7] During his administration he also rebuilt the historic Teatro La Perla, and reconditioned the Teatro La Perla northern annex to be used as headquarters of the municipal public library.

Early years

Tormos Diego was the son of Joaquin Tormos and Catalina Diego.[8] Tormos Diego married Amparo Vega Nevárez on 25 September 1911, in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico,[9] and they had 6 children: Carmen Amparo, Nelida Mercedes, Ana Luisa, Aida, José, and Gloria.[10] One of his children, José G. Tormos Vega, was also mayor of Ponce.

Mayoral selection

Antonio M. Delgado had been elected mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1936. However he died before taking office.[11] Jose Tormos Diego was selected by the standing political party to replace Mr. Delgado.

Mayoral term

Tormos fell ill of appendicitis during his second year as mayor, in July 1938, and had surgery at a Washington, D.C., area hospital.[12]

Tormos Diego is best known for under his administration the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party received a permit for a peaceful march, which resulted in the Ponce massacre by Insular Police under authority supplied by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Governor Blanton Winship.[13] [14] [15]

Death and legacy

Tormos Diego died on 24 August 1977. The cause of his death was "cirrhosis of the liver", and he was buried at Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul in Ponce.[16]

During his mayoral administration he rebuilt the historic Teatro La Perla in 1940. During the project he also reconditioned the Teatro La Perla northern annex to be used as headquarters of the municipal public library.[17] In Ponce there is also a public housing development named after him.

See also

References

  1. Puerto Rico Department of Health. Certificate of Death. Number (Area 152, Year 1977) #56-698.
  2. Puerto Rico Department of Health. Certificate of Death. Number (Area 152, Year 1977) #56-698.
  3. 1930 United States Federal Census.
  4. Puerto Rico Department of Health. Certificate of Death. Number (Area 152, Year 1977) #56-698.
  5. Web site: Handed permit to the Nationalists . 25 October 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150709024412/http://www.enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=06102005 . 9 July 2015 . dead .
  6. Jose Enrique Ayoroa Santaliz. La Masacre de Ponce: Breve relacion de hechos y algunos de sus personajes. Ponce Massacre Museum. March 2011.
  7. http://puertoricopuebloapueblo.educatevirtual.com/Informaci%C3%B3n-sobre-Puerto-Rico.php Informacion sobre Puerto Rico.
  8. Puerto Rico Department of Health. Certificate of Death. Number (Area 152, Year 1977) #56-698.
  9. Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001.
  10. 1930 United States Federal Census.
  11. http://indigenouscaribbean.ning.com/video/alcaldia-de-ponce-cuidad Alcaldia de Ponce Cuidad Senorial.
  12. International News Service Wires. Mayor of Ponce, Jose Tormos Diego, in hospital resting after appendix operation. 26 July 1938.
  13. Web site: Handed permit to the Nationalists . 25 October 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150709024412/http://www.enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=06102005 . 9 July 2015 . dead .
  14. Jose Enrique Ayoroa Santaliz. La Masacre de Ponce: Breve relacion de hechos y algunos de sus personajes. Ponce Massacre Museum. March 2011.
  15. http://puertoricopuebloapueblo.educatevirtual.com/Informaci%C3%B3n-sobre-Puerto-Rico.php Informacion sobre Puerto Rico.
  16. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/9100/004537069_00191?pid=2368559&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D9100%26h%3D2368559%26tid%3D%26pid%3D%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3DPDj105%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=PDj105&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true Certificado de Defunción. Area 152. Year 1977. Registry 56. Number 698.
  17. Information retrieved from the commemorative plaque in the lobby of Teatro La Perla in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Its complete name in 1940 was "Auditorio y Libreria Publica La Perla".

Further reading

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