Manuel del Socorro Rodríguez

Manuel del Socorro Rodríguez de la Victoria (born April 3, 1758 in Santísimo Salvador de Bayamo , Cuba ; † June 3, 1819 in Bogotá , Colombia ) was a Colombian librarian, journalist and founder of the newspaper industry in Colombia.

Rodríguez, who grew up as a half-orphan, learned the craft of carpentry and wood carving, but also acquired knowledge of painting, calligraphy and the humanities. In 1790 he came to Bogota, where he quickly became the librarian of the Royal Library. He held this position until his death.

In the following year he founded the literary society Tertulia Eutropélica with high-ranking personalities from the city . This is where the idea of founding Colombia's first newspaper arose. The first issue of the weekly was published on February 9, 1791, and 265 issues followed without interruption until early 1797. Contributions to the magazine provided u. a. Antonio Nariño , Francisco Antonio Zea and Francisco José de Caldas .

Later he founded the magazine El Redactor Americana on behalf of Viceroy Antonio Amar y Borbón , which appeared regularly between the end of 1806 and 1809. The founding of the First Republic in 1810 put Rodríguez in financial distress, as the new government no longer paid his already low librarian salary.

He became editor of the central organ of the Junta Soprema , "Constitución Feliz" , member of the Colegio Electoral of the province of Cundinamarca and a member of the government of Antonio Nariño . After the reconquest by Spain in 1816, Rodríguez saved himself from execution as a supporter of the rebellion through a confession to King Fernando VII and worked as a librarian until his death.

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personal data
SURNAME	Socorro Rodríguez, Manuel del
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Socorro Rodríguez de la Victoria, Manuel del
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Colombian journalist and librarian
DATE OF BIRTH	April 3, 1758
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bayamo , Cuba
DATE OF DEATH	June 3, 1819
Place of death	Bogotá , Colombia