Cayetano Coll y Toste (November 30, 1850 – November 19, 1930), was a Puerto Rican physician, historian and writer, who served as Official Historian of Puerto Rico from 1913 until his death in 1930. He was the founder and editor of the fourteen volumes of the “Historical Bulletin of Puerto Rico.” He was the patriarch of a prominent family of Puerto Rican educators, politicians and writers.
Early years
Coll y Toste was born on November 30, 1850, in Arecibo, Captaincy General of Puerto Rico (present-day Puerto Rico). Coll's father was born in Spain and his mother, Monserrate Toste Torres de Coll Bassa (c. 1824–1914), was born in Puerto Rico.
In 1863, he entered the Jesuits' Seminary College in San Juan from where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 1868. In 1872, Coll y Toste went to Barcelona, Spain and enrolled in the "School of Medicine" of the University of Barcelona. From here he graduated as a "Doctor in Medicine and Surgery" in 1872. During his stay in Spain, he was able to study historical documents relating to Puerto Rico which he later found to be useful to him.
Historian
In 1874, Coll y Toste returned to the island where he set up his own medical practice in Arecibo. In 1891, he was named director of the Catholic Hospital of Arecibo. In his free time, he developed both a love of and an interest in literature. Not only did he become interested in investigating the history of Puerto Rico, but, he also took an active interest in the island's politics and was the founder and director of a publication called "El Ramillete". He also collaborated with the "Revista Puertorriqueña" (Puerto Rican Review), "La Semana Politica" (Political Weekly) and "Plumas Amigas" (Pen Pals).
