Poet, Journalist, Politician, Statesman. He was known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rico". In 1948, he was elected to be the first governor of the newly created Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; he served four four-year terms, serving a total of 16 years in office. Born Jose Luis Alberto Munoz Marin, he was the son of Luis Rivera, a journalist, poet and politician; his father served in the Puerto Rican House of Representatives and actively advocated for American citizenship for the people of Puerto Rico. Marin was educated in the United States, where he studied law at Georgetown University in Washington DC. While a student, he was a freelance reporter for several newspapers including his father's and the "Baltimore Sun"; wrote two volumes of poetry in 1917, "BorronesMadre Haraposa"; and translated into Spanish the works of notable American poets such as Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg. After his father's death, he left law school, went to Greenwich Village, New York to write and returned to Puerto Rico in 1926. Following his father's footsteps, he was elected to the Puerto Rican Senate in 1932. At first he advocated for Puerto Rico's independence, then as a member of the Popular Democratic Party, he later worked with the United States for social and economical support. During his governorship, he achieved a lifelong goal in changing Puerto Rico's status to that of a commonwealth; he improved housing, public health issues, and the educational system of his country. After being governor, he was elected in 1968 to the Puerto Rican Senate. After retirement, he traveled in Europe before returning to Puerto Rico. For his lectures on the history of the Puerto Rican government, he received Honorary Doctorate in Law Degree from Rutgers University, University of Kansas, Columbia University and Harvard University. He was awarded the United States President Medal of Freedom on December 6, 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. The United States Postal Service printed a Commemorative Stamp in his honor in 1990, and numerous schools, airports, and roads were named in his honor in New York and Puerto Rico. His photo was featured twice on the cover of "Time" magazine, in 1949 and 1958.