Vicente Riva Palacio

Vicente Riva Palacio was a Mexican writer, politician, and military leader who participated in the liberal reforms and the defense of the republic against the French intervention. He was the grandson of independence hero and president Vicente Guerrero. He studied law and became a lawyer in 1854. He was a deputy in the Constituent Congress of 1856 and 1861, and a supporter of Benito Juárez. He fought against the conservative forces and the French invaders, leading a guerrilla and becoming governor of the State of Mexico and Michoacán. He also founded and edited several newspapers, such as La Orquesta, El Pito Real, El Radical, and El Ahuizote. He was accused of conspiracy by Porfirio Díaz and imprisoned in 1884. He later went to Spain as a diplomat and died there in 1896. He wrote several historical novels, such as Calvario y Tabor, Monja y casada, virgen y mártir, Martín Garatuza, and Los piratas del golfo. He also wrote poetry, theater, and history. He is best known for his collaboration in the five-volume work Mexico a través de los siglos, a comprehensive history of Mexico from the pre-Hispanic era to the Porfiriato. He was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.