1936
* clicking the newspapers will take you to the original resource within the Digital Library of the Caribbean
February 23
Nationalists murder Police Chief
Colonel Francis E. Riggs, Chief of the Puerto Rican Police, is murdered by two young Nationalists, after attending mass at the San Juan cathedral, in retaliation for the slaying of four Nationalists killed in Río Piedras the previous year.
Both Nationalists, Hiram Rosado and Elías Beauchamp, are murdered at the Police headquarters. According to the police both men tried to escape and were killed on the spot.
March 5
Albizu Campos and other Nationalist Party Members Charged with Federal Conspiracy
Colonel Francis E. Riggs, Chief of the Puerto Rican Police, is murdered by two young Nationalists, after attending mass at the San Juan cathedral, in retaliation for the slaying of four Nationalists killed in Río Piedras the previous year.
Both Nationalists, Hiram Rosado and Elías Beauchamp, are murdered at the Police headquarters. According to the police both men tried to escape and were killed on the spot.
April 23
Referendum for Independence Proposed
Senator Millard Tydings (Democrat-Maryland), a close friend of Riggs and President of the Senate Territories and Possessions Committee, submits a bill to grant independence to Puerto Rico. The referendum would make it the only option on the ballot.
June 19 / July 10
Nationalist Party Convicted
June 19 - The first trial against Albizu Campos and seven others ends after the jury is unable to reach a consensus.
July 10 - A second jury finds Albizu Campos and the seven others guilty. All of them are sentenced to 10 years in prison in Atlanta, Georgia.
September 10
Acción Social Independentista Party Emerges
Muñoz Marín and several members of the Partido Liberal form Acción Social Independentista at the Teatro Campo Alegre in Caguas.
November 3
Pro-Statehood Coalition Defeats the Pro-Independence Partido Liberal
The first election after universal suffrage is established in Puerto Rico, granting all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, sex or economic status.
The combination of forces of the Partido Unión Republicana and the Socialist Party, known as la Coalición, win the elections. Both groups are pro-statehood. It is the second consecutive defeat for the pro-independence Partido Liberal.
This exhibition is a collaboration between the University of Puerto Rico Libraries, the George A. Smathers Libraries, the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), and the Latin American Research Resources Project (LARRP).