First Students from Latin America in the Agricultural and Mechanical College

Curator Information

Daniela Gamez Salgado, University of KentuckyFollow

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Description

*The photo above is not an accurate representation of all students in the A&M College during 1874-1876 because it has been cropped and merged to focus on Gerard Canton, Moses Salvador Cole, and Joaquin de Arrigunaga.

The initial goal of this research was to identify the first Latino student at the University of Kentucky, but this expanded to focus on individual Latino student experiences and collective student action. While only three students from Latin America were identified to have matriculated into the Agricultural and Mechanical College during the first ten years of its existence, there were also two other students from Latin America enrolled into the greater Kentucky University. Antonio Richard from Sonora, Mexico was enrolled as a senior at the College of Law in 1866-1867 and Frederico Lleras from Bogota, Colombia attended the College of Arts in 1868-1869. The College of Law and College of Arts of Kentucky University evolved into an extension of the pre-existing Transylvania University. Only students from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky University were ultimately considered in the early history of the timeline because of the direct history that ties the evolution of the University of Kentucky with the A&M College.

The first two students identified to be from Latin America to attend the A&M College were Moses Salvador Cole and Gerard Canton in 1874-1875. The following academic year, 1875-1876, Joaquin de Arrigunaga from Campeachy, Mexico (believed to be a typo of Campeche, Mexico) entered the A&M College. These three students served as the sole representation of Latin America during a time when there was less than one hundred total students.

Cole and Canton are recorded to be from the same hometown of Rivas, Nicaragua, but their connection is unknown. Their faces and interests are also a mystery since the Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Kentucky University, Volume 2 (1875-1876) was focused on tracking enrollment and general academic information about each college. However, it is known that Gerard Canton enrolled into the Commercial College while in the A&M College in 1875, which was a common occurrence for students at the Kentucky University. Canton and Arrigunaga’s graduation is unlisted, while Cole is listed as a graduate from the Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1878, thus making Moses Salvador Cole the first student from Latin America to graduate from what is now known as the University of Kentucky.

Curation Date

9-2019

Photo Source

2011ua006 : [Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Kentucky University, 1875-1876], University of Kentucky catalogs, 1865-2007, University of Kentucky Special Collections.