RODRIGUEZ DE FONSECA, Juan.
See FONSECA, JUAN RODRIGUF_Z.
RODRfGUEZ GALVAN, van', Ignacio, Mexican poet and dramatist : b. 1816; d. 1842. Although he died at the early age of 26 he had already proved himself one of the greatest dramatic and poetic geniuses of Mexico and one of the masters of the Spanish tongue. Early in the beginning of the last cen tury Mariano Galvan had a noted bookstore in Mexico City and he published the Galvan Callender, which is still issued. His young nephew Ignacio came to work for him. The boy had very little education; but he set to work to educate himself through the books in his uncle's store and with the help of kindly priests and other visitors to the old book shop. In this way he mastered several languages, while yet in his 'teens. But above all he studied poetry and more especially the works of the romantic poets who had already begun to make a stir in the world of literature. Young Rodri guez Galvtin early began to write in imitation of his favorite authors, poetry and Amnia. In 1838 when he was but 22 years of age,. his first drama was produced in Mexico City with great success. This drama, eMufioz, Visitador de Mexico,) which was based on events in Mexican history of the colonial period, was the first real national drama in Mexico; and it set the fashion for others, many of diem of notable worth. It is a tragedy in which all the prin cipal characters suffer in the usual way of the romantic school. But it has many strong quali ties which has ever made it a favorite in Mexico and in Spain,. where it has been fre quently produced. Rodriguez Galvin's bent of mind was tragic and his odes and poems, though forceful and poetic, are all tinged with this tragic hue. The young poet also set the fashion of going into the pre-Conquest history of Mexico for subjects, in the (Nrision de Mocte zuma.) This legend was written about a tra dition of the unfortunate emperor of Mexico who occupied the throne of the Aztecs at the time of the Canquest. The poet also went bark into the same period for the incidents in (La Profecia de Guatemoc,) the last emperor of the Aztecs. In this poem he again sounds
a very strongly national note, when he presents the dead emperor, in a vision, showing his burnt feet, as a token of the cruelty of the. Spaniards who had tortured him in an effort to force him to reveal the hiding place of a royal treasure which he was supposed to have hidden. This latter poem was followed by a second drama dealing with an incident of the colonial • period of •Mexican history and en titled Privado del Virrey,> which was still more popular than his first effort in this field; and awakened the people of the capital to the fact that in this young man had arisen a national drama and poetry. His literary repu tation secured for Rodriguez Gavin an ap pointment in the Mexican diplomatic service m South America. At that time yellow fever was raging in Vera Cruz; Galvin succumbed end died at Havana, on the threshold of what promised to be a much greater fame than he had as yet achieved. Young though he was at the time of his death his youthful accomplish ments have won for him the title of father of the Mexican making drama' and of Mexican romantic poetry of the purely national type. III reality he is the first of the romantic poets of Latin • America and his work has had con siderable influence upon that of other Latin Anierimm poets in Central and South America.
ROE, Charles Francis, American soldier: b. New York, 1 May 1848. He was graduated at West Point • in 1868 and entered the 1st cavalry, being assigned to frontier duty. In 1870 he was transferred to the 2d cavalry; be came second lieutenant in 1871 and first lieu tenant in 1880. In his early days in the rode 221/, hours from Camp Harney, Ore., to Fort Bidwell, Cal., to carry orders to prevent an Indian outbreak. In 1888 he resigned from the army and engaged in real estate business in New York. He became major of Troop A, New York Volunteer Cavalry, in 1895, and later was appointed inajoineneral. President McKinley appointed him brigadier-general of United States volunteers in June 1898; he retired on account of his advanced age on 1 May 1912.