Rafael Martínez Nadal
| Rafael Martínez Nadal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 3rd President of the Senate of Puerto Rico | |
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In office 1933–1941 |
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| Preceded by | Luis Sánchez Morales |
| Succeeded by | Luis Muñoz Marín |
| Member of the Senate of Puerto Rico from the At-large district | |
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In office 1921 – July 6, 1941 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rafael Martínez Nadal April 22, 1877 Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, |
| Died | July 6, 1941 (aged 64) Guaynabo, Puerto Rico |
| Political party |
Republican Party of Puerto Rico Republican Union |
| Spouse(s) | Mercedes Valdivieso |
Rafael Martínez Nadal (April 22, 1877 – July 6, 1941) was a Puerto Rican politician, senator, journalist, and businessman. He was the third president of the Senate of Puerto Rico, serving from 1933 to 1941.
Rafael Martínez Nadal was born on April 22, 1877 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He was an orphan from an early age, since his mother, Estebanía Nadal Freyre died hours after his birth, and his father, Rafael Martínez Santana, when he was only five years old. After that, he was raised in Maricao, Puerto Rico by his paternal aunts. He then studied in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
At the age of sixteen, his tutor sent him to Barcelona, Spain to study law. However, he interrupted his studies and went to live in Paris. He spent the next years between Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, where he was a businessman in fields as varied as bullfighting, meat distribution, theater production and coffee importation.
In August 13, 1904, Martínez Nadal returned to Mayagüez, where he dedicated to the business of coffee. He also became a journalist and joined the Puerto Rico Republican Party founded several years before by doctor José Celso Barbosa. In 1908 he founded the "El Combate" newspaper. In 1912, he moved to Ponce, Puerto Rico and began studying again, receiving his law degree. His practice became so prominent that, even decades later, many court observers quipped a popular rhyme in Spanish ("Temblaba la corte, temblaba el fiscal, temblaban los jueces, cuando llegaba Martínez Nadal" or "the court trembled, the DA trembled, the judge trembled, when Martínez Nadal arrived").
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