U.S. Representative:Romualdo Pacheco, a representative from California, was
elected in 1876 by a one-vote margin. He served for four months before his
opponent succeeded in contesting the results. In 1879 he was again elected
to Congress, where he served for two terms.
U.S. Senator:Octaviano Larrazolo was elected in 1928 to finish the
term of New Mexico senator Andieus Jones, who had died in office. He
served for six months before falling ill and stepping down; he died in
1930. The first Hispanic senator to serve an entire term (and then some)
was Dennis Chávez, of New Mexico, who served from 1935
through 1962.
Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Agency: General
Elwood "Pete" Quesada helped create this agency to manage the
growing aviation field and improve airline safety. He served in this
position from 1958 to 1961. The agency became the Federal Aviation Administration in 1966.
U.S. Treasurer: Romana Acosta Bañuelos, 1971–1974.
U.S. cabinet member: Lauro F. Cavazos, 1988–1990, Secretary of Education.
U.S. Surgeon General:Antonia Coello Novello, 1990–1993. She was also the first
woman ever to hold the position.
U.S. Secretary of
Transportation: Federico Peña, 1993.
U.S. Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development:Henry Cisneros, 1993.
Democrat to run for President:Bill Richardson, 2008. Though he eventually lost the
nomination to Barack Obama, Richardson made history by entering the
race.
Military
Flying ace: Col. Manuel J. Fernández, Jr., who flew 125 combat
missions in the Korean War.
Medal of Honor recipient: Philip Bazaar, a Chilean member of the U.S. Navy, for
bravery during the Civil War. He received his Congressional Medal of Honor
in 1865.
Admiral, U.S. Navy: David G. Farragut. In 1866, he became the first U.S.
naval officer ever to be awarded the rank of admiral. The first Hispanic
American to become a four-star admiral was Horacio Rivero of Puerto Rico,
in 1964.
General, U.S. Army: Richard E. Cavazos, 1976. In 1982, he became the army's
first Hispanic four-star general.
Secretary of the Navy: Edward Hidalgo, 1979.
Science and Medicine
Astronaut: Franklin Chang-Dìaz, 1986. He flew on a total of seven
space-shuttle missions.
The first female Hispanic
astronaut was Ellen Ochoa, whose first of four shuttle missions was in
1991.
Nobel Prize in Physics: Luiz Walter Alvarez, 1968, for discoveries about
subatomic particles. Later, he and his son proposed the now-accepted
theory that the mass dinosaur extinction was caused by a meteor impact.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine: Severo Ochoa, 1959, for the synthesis of ribonucleic acid
(RNA).
Literature
Novel in English, written and
published in U.S.: María
Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Who Would Have Thought It? (1872). She's
better known for her 1885 second novel, The Squatter and the Don.
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Oscar Hijuelos, 1990, for his novel The Mambo Kings
Play Songs of Love.
Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Nilo Cruz, 2003, for his play Anna in the Tropics.
Music
Opera diva: Lucrezia Bori, who debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in
1912.
Rock star: Richie Valens, 1958.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
inductee: Carlos Santana, 1998.
Film
Oscar, Best Actor: José Ferrer, 1950, Cyrano de Bergerac.
Oscar, Best Supporting Actress:
Rita Moreno, 1961, West Side Story.
Oscar, Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn, 1952, Viva Zapata!.
Hollywood director: Raoul Walsh, 1914, The Life of General Villa.
Matinee idol: Ramón Navarro, 1923, The Prisoner of Zenda.
Tony, Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno, 1975, The Ritz. In 1977, Moreno
became the first Hispanic American (and the second person ever) to have
won an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy, picking up the last of those
for her performance as guest host on The Muppet Show.
Television
Star of a network television show: Desi Arnaz, 1952, I Love Lucy.
Major league player: Esteban Bellán, 1871, Troy Haymakers.
World Series player: Adolfo “Dolf” Luque, 1919, relief pitcher for the
Cincinnati Reds, against the infamous “Black Sox.” (He later pitched for
the New York Giants in the 1933 Series and was credited with the win in
the final game.)
All-Star Game player: Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel, 1951, starting shortstop
for the American League.
Rookie of the Year: Luis Aparicio, 1956, shortstop, Chicago White Sox.
No-hitter: Juan Marichal, June 15, 1963, for the San Francisco
Giants, against the Houston Colt .45s.
Hall of Fame inductee: Roberto Clemente, 1973. He was also the first Hispanic
player to serve on the Players Association Board and to reach 3,000 hits
Team owner: Arturo “Arte” Moreno bought the Anaheim Angels in 2003,
becoming the first Hispanic owner of any major U.S. sports franchise. In
2005, he renamed it the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Football Hall of Fame inductee:
Tom Fears, 1970. He also became
the first Hispanic American head coach in 1967.
Other Sports
Grand Slam championship winner:
Richard “Pancho” González,
1948.
LPGA Hall of Fame inductee: Nancy López, 1987. In 1978, she became the first player
to have won the the Rookie of the Year Award, Player of the Year Award,
and Vare Trophy in the same season.
Heavyweight boxing champ: John Ruiz, 2001, defeating Evander Holyfield.
