Juan B. Alegre

{{Short description|Senator of the 6th and 7th Philippine Legislatures}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Juan Bautista Alegre y Levantino

| image = Sen._Juan_B._Alegre.JPG

| office = Senator of the Philippines from the 6th District

| term_start = June 2, 1931

| term_end = June 14, 1931

| predecessor = José O. Vera

| successor = José O. Vera

| term_start1 = June 6, 1922

| term_end1 = June 5, 1928

| predecessor1 = Leoncio Imperial

| successor1 = José Fuentebella

| office2 = President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands

| predecessor2 = Vicente Madrigal

| successor2 = Jose V. Ramirez

| term2 = 1920–1921

| birth_name = Juan Bautista Alegre y Levantino

| birth_date = {{birth date|1882|2|2}}

| birth_place = Casiguran, Sorsogon, Captaincy General of the Philippines

| death_date = {{death date and age|1931|6|14|1882|2|2}}

| death_cause = complications of gastric ulcer

| death_place = Manila, Philippine Islands

| restingplace = La Loma Cemetery

| party = Democrata (1931)

| otherparty = Nacionalista (1922-1931)

| spouse = Amanda ("Aimee") Sargent{{Cite web

|title=Filipinos Gone to Ellis Island - aqwg02

|url=https://filipinosgone2ellis-island.tripod.com/aqwg02.htm

|website=filipinosgone2ellis-island.tripod.com}}

| relatives = Narciso Alegre y Pellicer (father)
Ramona Levantino (mother)

| children = (1) Narciso (died in infancy; 3 months); (2) Narciso Joseph; (3) Anita (died in childhood); (4) Juan Bautista, Jr.; (5) Maria Cristina; (6) José

| education = Yale Law School

| signature =

}}

Juan Bautista Alegre y Levantino (February 2, 1882 – June 14, 1931) was a Filipino statesman, a delegate of the first Philippine Independence Mission of 1919 to Washington, D.C.,{{cite book

|last1=Churchill

|first1=Bernardita Reyes

|url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/111875|title=THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE MISSIONS TO THE UNITED STATES (1919-1934): A thesis submitted to the faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

|date=July 1981

|publisher=Australian National University

|page=679 Appendix A

|language=English

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506104501/https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/111875

|archive-date=2021-05-06}}{{cite book

|title=Philippine Independence Hearings Before the Committee on the Philippines United States Senate and the Committee on Insular Affairs House of Representatives Held Jointly

|date=1919

|publisher=Washington Government Printing Office

|pages=5 and 139

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSs4AAAAYAAJ&q=juan+b+alegre+philippines+independence+mission&pg=PA5}} Secretary of the National Committee of the Philippine Independence Commission of 1922,{{cite news

|title=10 Years Ago - June 6, 1924

|publisher=Philippines Herald

|date=June 6, 1934

|language=English}}{{cite journal

|last1=Onorato

|first1=Michael

|title=The Philippine Independence Mission of 1922

|volume=Philippine Studies Vol. 16, No. 3

|date=1968

|publisher= Ateneo de Manila University

|location=Quezon City, Philippines

}}{{cite journal

|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42720307

|journal=Philippine Studies

|last1=Onorato

|first1=Michael

|title=The Philippine Independence Mission of 1922

|date=1968

|volume=16

|issue=3

|pages=558–562

|publisher=Ateneo de Manila University

|jstor=42720307

}}{{cite journal

|last1=Fernandez

|first1=Doreen G.

|title=The Philippine Independence Mission of 1922

|volume=Philippine Studies Vol. 37 No. 3

|date=1989

|publisher= Ateneo de Manila University

|location=Quezon City, Philippines

|page=}} a member of the first Philippine Independence Congress of 1930,{{cite book

|last1=Kalaw

|first1=Maximo M.

|title=Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 APPENDIX A, FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS, LIST OF MEMBERS

|date=1930

|publisher=Published under the Direction of Dean Maximo M. Kalaw, Executive Secretary, College of Liberal Arts, University of the Philippines, Manila, P.I.

|page=333

|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/AFJ2098.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506110212/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/AFJ2098.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

|archive-date=2021-05-06}} and Senator of the Philippines.

Biography

Juan B. Alegre was born on February 2, 1882, in Casiguran in the province of Sorsogon in the Bicol Peninsula. In 1926, he later moved residence to what is now known as Barangay San Juan in Irosin.

Alegre was an abaca plantation owner{{cite book

|last1=Nolasco

|first1=Clarita

|title=The Creoles in Spanish Philippines (Reprint)

|date=2019

|publisher=Pantas Publishing and Printing Co.

|location=Quezon City, NCR, Philippines

|page=53

|isbn=978-621-95835-9-6}} and reportedly one of the wealthiest citizens{{cite journal

|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42633609

|journal=Philippine Studies

|title=The Philippine Press System: 1811-1989

|last1=Fernandez

|first1=Doreen G.

|date=1989

|volume=37

|issue=3

|pages=317–344

|publisher=Ateneo de Manila University

|jstor=42633609

}} of the Philippines of his time. He was the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands from 1920 to 1921, and one of the financiers of the Philippines Herald{{Cite web

|title=The Philippines herald.

|url=https://lccn.loc.gov/sn94049968

|website=Library of Congress}}{{Cite book

|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/501597

|title=The Philippines herald: pioneer Filipino daily in English

|date=1920

|publisher=Peoples Press

|location=Manila}}{{Cite news

|date=1920

|title=The Philippines herald.

|language=English

|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11295869

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506111857/https://www.worldcat.org/title/philippines-herald/oclc/11295869

|archive-date=2021-05-06

|oclc=11295869}} newspaper. Juan B. Alegre was married to Amanda Sargent{{cite book

|last1=Sargent

|first1=William

|title=Sargent Record

|date=1899

|publisher=The Californian Co. Publishers

|location=St. Johnsbury, Vermont

|page=679}}{{cite book

|last1=Sargent

|first1=Winthrop

|title=Early Sargents of New England

|date=1922

|publisher=Ad-Service Printing Co.

|location=Philadelphia}}{{cite book

|last1=Sargent

|first1=John S.

|title=Sargent Genealogy: Hugh Sargent, of Courteenhall, Northamptonshire, and His Descendants in England; William Sargent, of Malden, New England, and His Descendants in America (Classic Reprint)

|date=April 19, 2018

|publisher=Forgotten Books

|isbn=978-1528478601

|pages=254

|edition=Classic Reprint (Hardcover)

}} and survived by four of his children.

After completing his training in the Philippines, Juan B. Alegre attended Yale University from 1903 to 1905 but had to leave his 3Ls in Yale Law School, abetted by business concerns from the death of his father, Narciso Alegre Pellicer.

In 1922, he was elected to the Senate of the Philippines{{cite web|title=History of the Senate of the Philippines|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-history-of-the-senate-of-the-philippines/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506112433/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-history-of-the-senate-of-the-philippines/|archive-date=2021-05-06|publisher=officialgazette.gov.ph}} for the Sixth Senatorial District{{cite web

|title=List of Previous Senators, Sixth Legislature

|url=http://legacy.senate.gov.ph/senators/senlist.asp#sixth_leg

|website=Senate of the Philippines 18th Congress

|publisher=Senate of the Philippines}} on behalf of the Nacionalista Party. Three years later, Alegre was re-elected to the 7th Philippine Legislature.{{cite web

|title=List of Previous Senators, Seventh Legislature

|url=http://legacy.senate.gov.ph/senators/senlist.asp#seventh_leg

|website=Senate of the Philippines 18th Congress

|publisher=Senate of the Philippines}} However, after being defeated for a third term in the 1928 Senate elections by another member of the Nacionalista Party, he joined the Democrata Party.

On behalf of the Demócratas, he succeeded afterwards in being re-elected again to the Senate. But before Alegre could take his place in the 9th Philippine Legislature, however, he died in his home in Manila after being sworn to office{{cite news

|title=JUAN B. ALEGRE DIES; PHILIPPINE SENATOR; Took Oath of Office Just Before Succumbing

|agency=New York Times

|date=15 June 1931

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/15/archives/juan-b-alegre-dies-philippine-senator-fiery-politician-who-studied.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506113019/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/15/archives/juan-b-alegre-dies-philippine-senator-fiery-politician-who-studied.html

|archive-date=2021-05-06

|page=18

|language=English}} at the age of 49,{{cite news

|title=JUAN B. ALEGRE DIES; PHILIPPINE SENATOR; His Loss a Blow to Party

|agency=New York Times

|date=15 June 1931

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/15/archives/juan-b-alegre-dies-philippine-senator-fiery-politician-who-studied.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506113019/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/15/archives/juan-b-alegre-dies-philippine-senator-fiery-politician-who-studied.html

|archive-date=2021-05-06

|page=18

|language=English}} on June 14, 1931{{cite web

|title=News of the World, Philippine Magazine: May 15 – June 14, 1931

|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1931/07/01/news-of-the-world-philippine-magazine-may-15-june-14-1931/

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506113238/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1931/07/01/news-of-the-world-philippine-magazine-may-15-june-14-1931/

|archive-date=2021-05-06

|website=Official Gazette

|publisher=EDP/IT Division of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)}} from complications of gastric ulcer.News of the World: The Philippines, Juan B. Alegre, Philippine Magazine (Vol. 28, no. 1, p. 63) July 1, 1931{{cite web

|title=Philippine Magazine Volume 28 No. 1

|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/acd5869.0028.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

|website=The United States and its Territories 1870 to 1925: The Age of Imperialism

|publisher=Ginn & Company Educational Publishers

|page=63

|date=July 1931}} His vacancy was filled by Jose O. Vera{{cite web

|title=Philippine Magazine Volume 28 No. 1

|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/acd5869.0028.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

|website=The United States and its Territories 1870 to 1925: The Age of Imperialism

|publisher=Ginn & Company Educational Publishers

|page=205

|date=August 1931}}{{cite news

|title=JUAN B. ALEGRE DIES; PHILIPPINE SENATOR; Election of Another Democrat in His Place Unlikely

|agency=New York Times

|date=15 June 1931

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/15/archives/juan-b-alegre-dies-philippine-senator-fiery-politician-who-studied.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506113019/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/15/archives/juan-b-alegre-dies-philippine-senator-fiery-politician-who-studied.html

|archive-date=2021-05-06

|page=18

|language=English}} by a special election later that year.{{cite web

|last1=Sakdalan

|first1=Benito M.

|title=Philippine Magazine Volume 28 No. 1 (First Session of the Ninth Legislature)

|website=The United States and its Territories 1870 to 1925: The Age of Imperialism

|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/acd5869.0028.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

|publisher=Philippines Herald

|page=323

|date=July 1931}} A street fronting the Sorsogon Provincial Capitol and Park in Sorsogon City is named in his honor.{{cite web

|title=The Sorsogon Provincial Capitol Park

|url=http://www.localphilippines.com/attractions/the-sorsogon-provincial-capitol-park

|website=LocalPhilippines.com}}{{cite web

|last1=Rielo

|first1=Nik

|title=Provincial Capitol and Park of Sorsogon

|url=https://pinoyontheroad.com/2013/03/23/sorsogon-provincial-capitol-and-park-photo-essay/

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506120433/https://pinoyontheroad.com/2013/03/23/sorsogon-provincial-capitol-and-park-photo-essay/

|archive-date=2021-05-06

|website=Pinoy on the Road}}

Images

Image:Alegre family emblem.jpg|Historical emblem of the Alegre family of [https://www.google.com/maps/place/44144+Villarroya+de+los+Pinares,+Teruel,+Spain/@40.5284915,-0.6723301,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xd5e53dcd508e6e3:0xe20550eed04bf464!8m2!3d40.5292275!4d-0.6684106 Villarroya de los Pinares]

Image:Narciso Alegre y Pellicer.png|Narciso Alegre Pellicer, father of Juan Bautista Alegre y Levantino

Image:Kapitolyo ng Sorsogon.jpg|[https://www.google.com.ph/maps/place/Sorsogon+Capitol+Park/@12.9709972,124.001937,19z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x5fc53ac5e930766f!8m2!3d12.9713279!4d124.0015758 The Sorsogon Provincial Capitol and Park, bounded by Juan Alegre Street]

Image:Manuel Quezon Aurora Aragon wedding photo.jpg|Wedding party of Manuel Luis Quezon and Aurora Aragon after the marriage was solemnized in Hongkong on December 14, 1918.