Medical Pioneer. On August 8, 1898, shortly after the Maine exploded off the coast of Cuba, and after Puerto Rico was invaded by American troops, Ramon Emeterio Betances, who was in exile in Paris for being the mastermind behind the 1856 Grito de Lares uprising, wrote: "When I die, if my remains are taken to Puerto Rico, I ask that they go wrapped in the sacred flag of my mother country." The following month, on September 16, Betances died in Paris at 81, after a long and agonizing illness. His remains were cremated and the ashes deposited in the Pére Lachaise Cemetery of Paris. Twenty-two years later, the box that contained the ashes of doctor Betances arrived in San Juan, where it was received by a multitude of approximately 20,000 people. His ashes were deposited in the monument to Betances that was constructed in Cabo Rojo, his home town. Betances, also known as "El Antillano," was known for his contributions in the field of health, being the first physician in Puerto Rico to use chloroform as anesthesia.
Medical Pioneer. On August 8, 1898, shortly after the Maine exploded off the coast of Cuba, and after Puerto Rico was invaded by American troops, Ramon Emeterio Betances, who was in exile in Paris for being the mastermind behind the 1856 Grito de Lares uprising, wrote: "When I die, if my remains are taken to Puerto Rico, I ask that they go wrapped in the sacred flag of my mother country." The following month, on September 16, Betances died in Paris at 81, after a long and agonizing illness. His remains were cremated and the ashes deposited in the Pére Lachaise Cemetery of Paris. Twenty-two years later, the box that contained the ashes of doctor Betances arrived in San Juan, where it was received by a multitude of approximately 20,000 people. His ashes were deposited in the monument to Betances that was constructed in Cabo Rojo, his home town. Betances, also known as "El Antillano," was known for his contributions in the field of health, being the first physician in Puerto Rico to use chloroform as anesthesia.
Bio by: Jose Ruiz-Alvarez
Gravesite Details
His ashes were returned to Puerto Rico in 1920 and eventually placed in a mausoleum erected in his honor at the Plaza in Cabo Rojo.
Family Members
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See more Betances memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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