Justo Sierra Mendez

"Justo Sierra Méndez (January 26, 1848 – September 13, 1912), was a Mexican prominent liberal writer, historian, journalist, poet and political figure during the Porfiriato, in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. He was a leading voice of the Científicos, "the scientists" who were the intellectual leaders during the regime of Porfirio Díaz. Sierra moved to Mexico City at the age of 13 in 1861, the year of his father's death. His most enduring works are sociopolitical histories of the era of Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz. Sierra was elected a member of the Mexican Academy of Language in 1887, and served as the Academy's sixth director from 1910 until his death in 1912. From 1905 to 1911, he agreed to serve as the Secretary of Public Education under the Díaz regime. After the overthrow of Díaz in May 1911 and the election of Francisco I. Madero at the outset of the Mexican Revolution, Madero chose Sierra to serve as the Mexican ambassador to Spain. Sierra died from an aneurysm in Madrid in 1912 while serving in his post."