U.S. Representative:Romualdo
Pacheco, a representative from California, was elected in 1876 by a
one-vote margin. He served for four months before his opponent succeeded
in contesting the results. In 1879 he was again elected to Congress,
where he served for two terms.
U.S. Senator:Octaviano
Larrazolo was elected in 1928 to finish the term of New Mexico
senator Andieus Jones, who had died in office. He served for six months
before falling ill and stepping down; he died in 1930. The first
Hispanic senator to serve an entire term (and then some) was Dennis
Chávez, of New Mexico, who served from 1935 through
1962.
U.S. Treasurer: Romana Acosta Bañuelos,
1971–1974.
U.S. cabinet member: Lauro F. Cavazos, 1988–1990,
Secretary of Education.
U.S. Surgeon General:Antonia Coello Novello,
1990–1993. She was also the first woman ever to hold the
position.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation: Federico Peña,
1993.
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development:Henry Cisneros,
1993.
Medal of Honor recipient: Philip Bazaar, a Chilean member of
the U.S. Navy, for bravery during the Civil War. He received his
Congressional Medal of Honor in 1865.
Admiral, U.S. Navy: David G. Farragut. In 1866,
he became the first U.S. naval officer ever to be awarded the rank of
admiral. The first Hispanic American to become a four-star admiral was
Horacio Rivero of Puerto Rico, in 1964.
General, U.S. Army: Richard E. Cavazos, 1976. In 1982, he
became the army's first Hispanic four-star general.
Secretary of the Navy: Edward Hidalgo, 1979.
Science and Medicine
Astronaut: Franklin Chang-Dìaz,
1986. He flew on a total of seven space-shuttle missions.
The first female Hispanic astronaut was Ellen Ochoa, whose first
of four shuttle missions was in 1991.
Nobel Prize in Physics: Luiz Walter Alvarez,
1968, for discoveries about subatomic particles. Later, he and his son
proposed the now-accepted theory that the mass dinosaur extinction was
caused by a meteor impact.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Severo Ochoa, 1959, for
the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Literature
Novel in English, written and published in U.S.: María
Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Who Would Have Thought It? (1872). She's
better known for her 1885 second novel, The Squatter and the
Don.
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Oscar Hijuelos, 1990, for
his novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Nilo Cruz, 2003, for his play
Anna in the Tropics.
Music
Opera diva: Lucrezia Bori, who
debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1912.
Rock star: Richie Valens, 1958.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee: Carlos Santana,
1998.
Film
Oscar, Best Actor: José Ferrer, 1950,
Cyrano de Bergerac.
Tony, Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno, 1975, The
Ritz. In 1977, Moreno became the first Hispanic American (and the
second person ever) to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy,
picking up the last of those for her performance as guest host on The
Muppet Show.
Television
Star of a network television show: Desi Arnaz, 1952, I
Love Lucy.
Major league player: Esteban Bellán, 1871, Troy
Haymakers.
World Series player: Adolfo “Dolf” Luque, 1919,
relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, against the infamous
“Black Sox.” (He later pitched for the New York Giants in
the 1933 Series and was credited with the win in the final game.)
All-Star Game player: Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel,
1951, starting shortstop for the American League.
Rookie of the Year: Luis Aparicio, 1956,
shortstop, Chicago White Sox.
No-hitter: Juan Marichal, June 15,
1963, for the San Francisco Giants, against the Houston Colt .45s.
Hall of Fame inductee: Roberto Clemente, 1973.
He was also the first Hispanic player to serve on the Players
Association Board and to reach 3,000 hits.
Team owner: Arturo “Arte” Moreno bought the
Anaheim Angels in 2003, becoming the first Hispanic owner of any major
U.S. sports franchise. In 2005, he renamed it the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim.
Football Hall of Fame inductee: Tom Fears, 1970. He also
became the first Hispanic American head coach in 1967.
Other Sports
Grand Slam championship winner: Richard “Pancho”
González, 1948.
LPGA Hall of Fame inductee: Nancy López, 1987. In
1978, she became the first player to have won the the Rookie of the Year
Award, Player of the Year Award, and Vare Trophy in the same
season.
Heavyweight boxing champ: John Ruiz, 2001,
defeating Evander Holyfield.
