Background
Born on November 27, 1867 in Ciales, Puerto Rico, guided by his father Manuel Sánchez Apellaniz and his mother Ana Morales, he studied in Ciales and San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1884, with his father, he founded a commercial enterprise.
Born on November 27, 1867 in Ciales, Puerto Rico, guided by his father Manuel Sánchez Apellaniz and his mother Ana Morales, he studied in Ciales and San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1884, with his father, he founded a commercial enterprise.
In addition to running the family business, he delved into literature, writing for newspapers and magazines during the latter part of the 19th century, before becoming involved in politics. He represented the Puerto Rican Republican Party, founded by Doctor José Celso Barbosa in 1899, in Washington during the discussions leading to the approval of Puerto Rico"s first Organic Acting, known as the Foraker Acting of 1900. During his early years in public service, he continued devoted to his business interests, served as a director of a commercial bank, a trustee of the University of Puerto Rico and president of the San Juan Chamber of Commerce and the Young Men’s Christian Association. He died in Río Grande on March 27, 1934, at the age of 66.
In the 1924 general elections, he was elected as a candidate of the Puerto Rico Alliance Party to the Senate, representing the district of San Juan, and was reelected in 1928.
After the death of the Senate"s first president, Antonio R. Barceló, he was elected as its second president on February 20, 1930, serving until the end of that term in 1932.
President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him as member of the United States territory"s "Executive Committee", appointive precursor of the elective Senate of Puerto Rico, in 1904, which he then chaired from 1912 to 1917, when the committee was abolished by the Jones Acting and replaced by the Senate.