Early Years
Degetau was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he also attended the common schools and the Central College of Ponce. His father was Mathias Degetau, son of a wealthy Hamburg, Germany, family. In Ponce his father Mathias managed the banks of the Overman and Dede House, of which his father, Otto Georg Christian Degetau (Federico's grandfather), was a partner. Federico's mother was Maria Consolacion Gonzalez, daughter of a respected San Juan family. His parents married in 1851.
He completed an academic course at Barcelona, Spain, and was graduated from the law department of the Central University of Madrid. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Madrid, Spain. He founded the newspaper La Isla de Puerto Rico to communicate the plight of Puerto Rico to the colonial power.
Read more about this topic: Federico Degetau
Famous quotes related to early years:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)