Agustín de Iturbide y Green
Encyclopedia
Don Agustín de Iturbide y Green, Prince of Iturbide (2 April 1863, Mexico City
, Mexico
– 3 March 1925, Washington, D.C.) was the grandson of Agustín de Iturbide
, the first emperor of independent Mexico
, and his consort Empress Ana María
. He became the adopted son, along with his cousin Salvador de Itúrbide y de Marzán
, of Mexico's only other royal heads of state—Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico. After the death of Maximilian he became Head of the Imperial House of Mexico, but had no children. His claims passed to the daughter of his cousin, Salvador, Maria Josepha Sophia de Iturbide
.
's second son H.H. Prince Don Ángel Maria de Iturbide y Huarte (2 October 1816 – 21 July 1872) and his American wife Alice Green (ca. 1836 – 1892), granddaughter of US Congressman and Revolutionary War Gen. Uriah Forrest
and great-granddaughter of George Plater
, Governor of Maryland.
Her older sister, Elizabeth Rousby Green, (married name Elizabeth Queensberry) b. ca. 1825 became a historical footnote when President Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth
arrived at her house after crossing the Potomac River
on his escape route. Had Booth managed to flee the country, his hope had been to seek asylum in Mexico.
ascended the throne of Mexico in 1863 with the support of the French
troops of Napoleon III, the new monarchs invited the Iturbide family back to Mexico. As it became clear that Maximilian and Carlota could have no children together, they offered to adopt Iturbide, which was agreed to with enthusiasm by his father and reluctance by his mother. They formally named Iturbide their heir on 13 September 1865, with the title His Highness, Prince de Iturbide.
and then back to the United States, where they settled in Washington, D.C. When he came of age Iturbide, who graduated from Georgetown University
, renounced his claim to the throne and title and returned to Mexico. He then served as an officer in the Mexican army. After publishing articles critical of President Porfirio Díaz
, he was arrested in 1890 on charges of sedition and sentenced to 14 months imprisonment. After his release he was sent into exile
, where Iturbide suffered two severe nervous breakdowns that resulted in him believing he was going to be assassinated. Eventually he returned to Georgetown where he taught as a professor of Spanish
and French language
s at Georgetown University
.
For some years before his marriage, Iturbide lived at a monastery near Washington, D.C., where he worked as a translator.
alongside his paternal grandmother, Empress Ana María of Mexico
.
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
– 3 March 1925, Washington, D.C.) was the grandson of Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
, the first emperor of independent Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and his consort Empress Ana María
Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz
Ana María Josefa Ramona de Huarte y Muñiz , was the consort of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of Mexico. She was daughter of the nobleman Isidro Huarte, provincial intendant and descendant of the Marquis of Altamira....
. He became the adopted son, along with his cousin Salvador de Itúrbide y de Marzán
Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán
Don Salvador, Prince of Iturbide, also named Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán . was the second adopted son of Maximilian I of Mexico.-Family:...
, of Mexico's only other royal heads of state—Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico. After the death of Maximilian he became Head of the Imperial House of Mexico, but had no children. His claims passed to the daughter of his cousin, Salvador, Maria Josepha Sophia de Iturbide
Maria Josepha Sophia de Iturbide
Maria Josepha Sophia de Itúrbide, Princess Imperial of Mexico was the head of the Imperial House of Mexico from 1925 to 1949.-Biography:...
.
Family
Iturbide was the son of Emperor Agustin IAgustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
's second son H.H. Prince Don Ángel Maria de Iturbide y Huarte (2 October 1816 – 21 July 1872) and his American wife Alice Green (ca. 1836 – 1892), granddaughter of US Congressman and Revolutionary War Gen. Uriah Forrest
Uriah Forrest
Uriah Forrest was an American statesman and military leader from Maryland. Forrest was born in St. Mary's County in southern Maryland. During the American Revolutionary War, Forrest was injured and lost a leg in the Battle of Germantown...
and great-granddaughter of George Plater
George Plater
George Plater was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman from Saint Mary's County, Maryland. He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1780, and briefly served as the sixth Governor of Maryland in 1791 and 1792.-Early life and education:Plater was born on the family...
, Governor of Maryland.
Her older sister, Elizabeth Rousby Green, (married name Elizabeth Queensberry) b. ca. 1825 became a historical footnote when President Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
arrived at her house after crossing the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
on his escape route. Had Booth managed to flee the country, his hope had been to seek asylum in Mexico.
Mexican heir
When Maximilian and CarlotaCharlotte of Belgium
Charlotte of Belgium is remembered today as Carlota of Mexico as empress consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, ex-Archduke of Austria.-Princess of Belgium:The only daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians by his second wife,...
ascended the throne of Mexico in 1863 with the support of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
troops of Napoleon III, the new monarchs invited the Iturbide family back to Mexico. As it became clear that Maximilian and Carlota could have no children together, they offered to adopt Iturbide, which was agreed to with enthusiasm by his father and reluctance by his mother. They formally named Iturbide their heir on 13 September 1865, with the title His Highness, Prince de Iturbide.
Post monarchy
With the overthrow of the monarchy in 1867, his biological family took him first to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and then back to the United States, where they settled in Washington, D.C. When he came of age Iturbide, who graduated from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, renounced his claim to the throne and title and returned to Mexico. He then served as an officer in the Mexican army. After publishing articles critical of President Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
, he was arrested in 1890 on charges of sedition and sentenced to 14 months imprisonment. After his release he was sent into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
, where Iturbide suffered two severe nervous breakdowns that resulted in him believing he was going to be assassinated. Eventually he returned to Georgetown where he taught as a professor of Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
s at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
.
For some years before his marriage, Iturbide lived at a monastery near Washington, D.C., where he worked as a translator.
Marriage
In 1915 he married Mary Louise Kearney (1872–1967), daughter of Brigadier General James Kearney. They had no children.Death
Agustín de Iturbide y Green died in Washington, D.C., after suffering a serious nervous and physical breakdown.http://www.casaimperial.org/donaugustin.htm He was buried at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
alongside his paternal grandmother, Empress Ana María of Mexico
Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz
Ana María Josefa Ramona de Huarte y Muñiz , was the consort of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of Mexico. She was daughter of the nobleman Isidro Huarte, provincial intendant and descendant of the Marquis of Altamira....
.