Fernando Picó

Fernando Picó Bauermeister, S.J. (August 15, 1941 – June 27, 2017) was a Puerto Rican Jesuit, historian and academic. Picó was a leading expert on the history of Puerto Rico and was considered an authority on the island's 20th century history. One of his best known works, Historia General de Puerto Rico, is widely utilized in Puerto Rican history curricula.

Biography Picó was born in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 15, 1941, to Florencio Picó and Matilde Bauermeister Picó.

In 1959, he entered the Saint Andrew-on-Hudson seminary, a Jesuit seminary located in Hyde Park, New York, where he studied philosophy and theology. also being a member of the Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Puertorriqueña (CEREP). Whilst his teachings were in European and medieval history, he began studying the records of Utuado, the primary coffee producing municipality and birthplace of his grandmother. Picó was considered one of the leading authorities on Puerto Rican history. One of his best known publications, "La historia de Puerto Rico" is a required text in many curriculums on the island. His articles have been published in numerous Puerto Rican, mainland American, and international magazines and newspapers.

Picó, who had heart surgery in 2015 and suffered from a stroke in 2016, became ill on June 26, 2017; the following day, he died at the Jesuit residence in Cupey, San Juan, Puerto Rico. On June 30, 2017, a public wake was organized to display his flag-draped coffin at the Tower Rotunda of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. He was survived by two sisters, Matilde Picó and Carmen Picó, and predeceased by his brother, Dr. Jose F. Picó.

Selected works authored Libertad y servidumbre en el Puerto Rico del siglo 19 (1979) Amargo café (1981) Los gallos peleados (1983) "Registro General de Jornaleros: Utuado, Puerto Rico 1849-50" "Historia General de Puerto Rico" (1986) "History of Puerto Rico: A Panorama of Its People" (1986) 1898: la guerra después la guerra (1987) "Vivir en Caimito" (1989) "Puerto Rico, tierra adentro y mar afuera" (1991) "La Peineta Colorada" (The Red Comb) (1991) "Don Quijote en motora y otras andanzas" (1993) Al filo del poder: subalternos y dominantes en Puerto Rico, 1739–1910 (1993) "El día menos pensado: Historia de los presidiarios en Puerto Rico (1793-1993)" (1994) "Coffee, Society and Power in Latin America" (1995) "Puerto Rico 1898: The War After The War" (2003) "Puerto Rico Inside and Out: Changes and Continuities" (2008) One Frenchman, Four Revolutions: General Ferrand and the Peoples of the Caribbean (2011) Vocaciones caribeñas (2013) "Santurce y las voces de su gente" (2014) Puerto Rico y la sequía de 1847 (2015) Universitas Ludens (2019)