Carlos E. Chardón
Encyclopedia
Dr. Carlos E. Chardón, D.Sc., D.Litt, (b. September 28, 1897 - d. March 7, 1965) was the first Puerto Rican mycologist. He was also known as "the Father of Mycology in Puerto Rico". He discovered the aphid
"Aphis maidis", the vector of the sugar cane Mosaic virus. Mosaic viruses are plant viruses. He was also the first Puerto Rican
to hold the position of Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico
.
, to Carlos Felix Chardón and Isabel Palacios Pelletier. His great-grandfather, Juan Bautista Chardón, a Catholic native of Champagne, France
, immigrated to Puerto Rico
from Louisiana
in 1816, encouraged by the Royal Decree of Graces
issued by the Spanish Crown.
Chardón received his primary and secondary education in his hometown and in 1915, he began his studies in agriculture at the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts
in Mayagüez. Chardón continued his college education at Cornell University
when Mayagüez was struck by an earthquake in 1918
that did considerable damage to the university. He earned his B.A. degree in 1919 and continued towards his Masters. He devoted himself to phytopathology
and mycology
and studied diseases of sugar cane under the supervision of Professor Herbert H. Whetzel. Chardón, who earned his Masters degree in 1921 and thus became the first Puerto Rican mycologist, returned to Puerto Rico and began a career in the fields of taxonomy
of fungi, phytopathology
, and agricultural development.
where he reorganized the School of Agriculture of Medellín. He also traveled to Venezuela
, Bolivia
and the Dominican Republic
. In 1929 he returned to Colombia and established the Experimental Station of Palmira.
, Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico, becoming the first Puerto Rican to hold that position.
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos
, president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
, believed that Chardón, who had been put in charge of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
(PRRA) by the then U.S. appointed governor Blanton Winship, was being used by the United States to "Americanize" the university with the support of the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico. On October 20, 1935, in a political meeting which the Nationalist Party held in the town of Maunabo
and which was transmitted by radio, Albizu Campos denounced Chardón, the deans and the Liberal Party as traitors, who wanted to convert the university into an "American" propaganda institution. On October 23, 1935, a group of students at the university began a signature collection campaign with the intention of declaring Albizu Campos "Student Enemy Number One". A protest against the group by the pro-nationalist faction of students in turn denounced Chardón and the Liberal Party as instigators and agents of the United States.
"
, who at the time was a Senator in the Puerto Rican legislature and member of the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico, as the Reconstruction of Puerto Rico Project. The plan which was within the established criteria of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
s New Deal
was well received and became known as "Plan Chardon". It sought the development of Agriculture Technicians.
Chardón resigned from his positions in PRRA and the University of Puerto Rico because of his disagreements with the Government of Puerto Rico
. He left Puerto Rico and helped in the agricultural and economic development of countries in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Iran
. He returned to Puerto Rico and held positions as director of the Land Authority (1940), and the Tropical Agricultural Institute in Mayagüez (1942).
. His son, doctor Carlos A. Chardón
served as Puerto Rico's Secretary of Education in 1977 and 2009.
The Puerto Rican Mycological Society has honored the memory of Chardón with the "Carlos E. Chardón Lecture" offered every year during the Annual Symposium of Mycology. The Government of Puerto Rico also honored his memory by naming an roadway after him in the Hato Rey section of San Juan. The General Studies
building at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus is named "Carlos E. Chardón" in his honor.
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
"Aphis maidis", the vector of the sugar cane Mosaic virus. Mosaic viruses are plant viruses. He was also the first Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
to hold the position of Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
.
Early years
Chardón (birth name: Carlos Eugenio Chardón Palacios) was born in Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, to Carlos Felix Chardón and Isabel Palacios Pelletier. His great-grandfather, Juan Bautista Chardón, a Catholic native of Champagne, France
Champagne, France
Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, now best known for the sparkling white wine that bears its name.Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 100 miles east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area...
, immigrated to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in 1816, encouraged by the Royal Decree of Graces
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815
The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 is a legal order approved by the Spanish Crown in the early half of the 19th century to encourage Spaniards and later Europeans of non-Spanish origin to settle and populate the colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico....
issued by the Spanish Crown.
Chardón received his primary and secondary education in his hometown and in 1915, he began his studies in agriculture at the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in Spanish , is a land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico...
in Mayagüez. Chardón continued his college education at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
when Mayagüez was struck by an earthquake in 1918
1918 Puerto Rico earthquake
The San Fermín earthquake, also known as the Puerto Rico earthquake of 1918, was a major earthquake that struck the island of Puerto Rico at 10:14am on October 11, 1918. The magnitude for the earthquake has been reported at around 7.5 ; however, that might not be an exact number...
that did considerable damage to the university. He earned his B.A. degree in 1919 and continued towards his Masters. He devoted himself to phytopathology
Phytopathology
Plant pathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens and environmental conditions . Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants...
and mycology
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
and studied diseases of sugar cane under the supervision of Professor Herbert H. Whetzel. Chardón, who earned his Masters degree in 1921 and thus became the first Puerto Rican mycologist, returned to Puerto Rico and began a career in the fields of taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of fungi, phytopathology
Phytopathology
Plant pathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens and environmental conditions . Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants...
, and agricultural development.
First Puerto Rican mycologist
Chardón worked as a Phytopathologist at the Agricultural Experimental Station in Río Piedras, where in 1922 he discovered the vector of the mosaic of sugar cane, the aphid Aphis maidis. His findings were published in the journal of Phytopathology. Chardón was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor by the United States-appointed governor Horace E. Towner. As commissioner he continued his studies of the diseases of tobacco and sugar cane. In 1926 Chardón traveled to ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
where he reorganized the School of Agriculture of Medellín. He also traveled to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. In 1929 he returned to Colombia and established the Experimental Station of Palmira.
Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico
He resigned from his position as Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor in 1931 was named by United States appointed governor, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Theodore D. Roosevelt, Jr. , was an American political and business leader, a Medal of Honor recipient who fought in both of the 20th century's world wars. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt from his second wife Edith Roosevelt...
, Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico, becoming the first Puerto Rican to hold that position.
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos
Pedro Albizu Campos
Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...
, president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
, believed that Chardón, who had been put in charge of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration was one of the alphabet agencies, created during the American New Deal. It was established in the Department of the Interior by Executive Order 7057 of May 28, 1935, and eliminated as of February 26, 1940, by act of August 15, 1953 .The objectives of the...
(PRRA) by the then U.S. appointed governor Blanton Winship, was being used by the United States to "Americanize" the university with the support of the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico. On October 20, 1935, in a political meeting which the Nationalist Party held in the town of Maunabo
Maunabo, Puerto Rico
Maunabo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, northeast of Patillas and south of Yabucoa. Maunabo is spread over 8 wards and Maunabo Pueblo . It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.The Mayor of the town is Jorge L. Márquez Pérez...
and which was transmitted by radio, Albizu Campos denounced Chardón, the deans and the Liberal Party as traitors, who wanted to convert the university into an "American" propaganda institution. On October 23, 1935, a group of students at the university began a signature collection campaign with the intention of declaring Albizu Campos "Student Enemy Number One". A protest against the group by the pro-nationalist faction of students in turn denounced Chardón and the Liberal Party as instigators and agents of the United States.
Rio Piedras massacre
A student assembly was held at the university on Oct. 24, where Albizu Campos was declared "Person non-grata". Chardón requested that the governor provide and place armed police officers on the grounds of the university in case the situation turned violent. A couple of police officers spotted what they believed to be a suspicious looking automobile and asked the driver Ramón S. Pagán, who was accompanied by his friend Pedro Quiñones, for his license. A fight between the men in the car and the police soon followed which resulted in the death of Pagán and Quiñones. According to the local newspaper "El Mundo" of Oct. 25th, an explosion, followed by gunfire, was heard resulting in the additional deaths of Eduardo Rodríguez Vega and José Santiago Barea. The incident became known as the "Rio Piedras massacreRío Piedras massacre
The Río Piedras massacre occurred at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and involved a confrontation between local police officers and supporters of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party on October 24, 1935...
"
Plan Chardón
In 1935, Chardón initiated a project based on the ideas of Luis Muñoz MarínLuis Muñoz Marín
Don José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician. Regarded as the "father of modern Puerto Rico," he was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín was the son of Luis Muñoz Rivera, a renowned autonomist leader...
, who at the time was a Senator in the Puerto Rican legislature and member of the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico, as the Reconstruction of Puerto Rico Project. The plan which was within the established criteria of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
s New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
was well received and became known as "Plan Chardon". It sought the development of Agriculture Technicians.
Chardón resigned from his positions in PRRA and the University of Puerto Rico because of his disagreements with the Government of Puerto Rico
Government of Puerto Rico
The Government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress and lack full protection under the United States Constitution...
. He left Puerto Rico and helped in the agricultural and economic development of countries in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. He returned to Puerto Rico and held positions as director of the Land Authority (1940), and the Tropical Agricultural Institute in Mayagüez (1942).
Honors
- In 1932 the Venezuelan government gave Chardón the Liberator Cross and the Medal of Honor in Public Instruction.
- In 1935 he received an Honorary Doctorate from Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. - In 1953 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras.
Written works
Chardón published the following books in regard to his scientific work:- "Mycological Explorations of Colombia" (1930)
- "Mycological Explorations of Venezuela" (1934)
- "Viajes y Naturaleza" (1941), where he described his trips in America and the contributions of Latin American scientists.
- The first, second and third volume of "Los Naturalistas en América Latina" (1949).
Legacy
Chardón was in the process of publishing the fourth and fifth volumes of "Los Naturalistas en América Latina" when he died on March 7, 1965, in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. His son, doctor Carlos A. Chardón
Carlos A. Chardón
for Dr. Carlos E. Chardón, the first Puerto Rican mycologist and the first Puerto Rican to hold the position of Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico, see: Carlos E. Chardón.Dr. Carlos A...
served as Puerto Rico's Secretary of Education in 1977 and 2009.
The Puerto Rican Mycological Society has honored the memory of Chardón with the "Carlos E. Chardón Lecture" offered every year during the Annual Symposium of Mycology. The Government of Puerto Rico also honored his memory by naming an roadway after him in the Hato Rey section of San Juan. The General Studies
Bachelor of General Studies
A Bachelor of General Studies degree is an undergraduate degree, offered by many universities in the Western World. It is very similar to a Bachelor of Arts or Liberal Arts degree, although there are often fewer requirements for studies in humanities and social sciences...
building at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus is named "Carlos E. Chardón" in his honor.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- French immigration to Puerto RicoFrench immigration to Puerto RicoThe French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana , Saint-Domingue and in Europe....
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez people