Henry Wells (author)
Encyclopedia
Henry Wells was an American
author
, professor
and leading expert on Latin America
politics. Wells helped to draft the Constitution of Puerto Rico
and advised the Dominican Republic
on proper election
procedures for the Organization of American States
. Additionally, Wells worked as international election observer in Honduras
, Costa Rica
, Bolivia
and Nicaragua
.
, the son of Maurice Henry Wells and Dorcas H. Hart. His original immigrant ancestor was Thomas Welles
(1590–1659), who arrived in Connecticut in 1637 and was the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. He received a bachelor's degree
from the University of Illinois, Phi Beta Kappa, and a master's degree
at Louisiana State University
.
Wells also enrolled at Yale University
but withdrew in order to join the United States Navy
in 1942 during World War II
. He served as a intelligence officer
in the South Pacific
with the Seventh Fleet from 1942 to 1946. Following World War II, Wells returned to Yale University where he earned his doctorate
in 1947. He taught at Yale as a professor until 1953. (An avid golfer, Wells helped pay for his Yale education by working as a golf pro in Litchfield, Connecticut
).
Wells married Patricia Brown in 1950. The couple later moved to Mount Airy
in Philadelphia and had six children.
from 1953 to 1956. He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
in 1956 where he taught until his retirement in 1986. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and took a leave of absence from Penn in order to teach in Costa Rica
. Wells drove a Dodge
van wife his and six children down the Pan-American Highway
in order to reach San José, Costa Rica
. The family arrived in San Jose on the same day that the Apollo 11
astronauts landed on the moon
.
He was the author of several books on Latin American including The Modernization of Puerto Rico: A Political Study of Changing Values and Institutions, which was published in 1969.
Wells was an outspoken critic of the United States' support of the El Salvadoran military during the Salvadoran Civil War of the 1980s. Wells was quoted in a 1981 interview, "We are on the wrong side in El Salvador
...We are trying to show the Soviets how tough we are . . . at the expense of the desperately poor in El Salvador."
Wells was also an active community activist in Philadelphia. He served as a consultant
to then Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth
on community relations. He also held a post of judge of elections in West Mount Airy from 1962 to 1964. Wells supported housing and neighborhood integration
as president of the West Mount Airy Neighbors in the early 1960s. He also once organized a weekend for 200 families of United Nations
delegates and employees. The families stayed for the weekend at the homes of local West Mount Airy residents.
at his home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
on October 1, 2007. He was 92 years old. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, two sons, and ten grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and leading expert on Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
politics. Wells helped to draft the Constitution of Puerto Rico
Constitution of Puerto Rico
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is the controlling government document of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government as well as the function of several of its institutions. The document also contains an extensive...
and advised the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
on proper election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
procedures for the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
. Additionally, Wells worked as international election observer in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
Early life
Wells was born in Macomb, IllinoisMacomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois southwest of Galesburg. The population was 18,588 at the 2000 census. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.- Geography :...
, the son of Maurice Henry Wells and Dorcas H. Hart. His original immigrant ancestor was Thomas Welles
Thomas Welles
Thomas Welles is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary...
(1590–1659), who arrived in Connecticut in 1637 and was the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. He received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the University of Illinois, Phi Beta Kappa, and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
.
Wells also enrolled at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
but withdrew in order to join the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1942 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served as a intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
in the South Pacific
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
with the Seventh Fleet from 1942 to 1946. Following World War II, Wells returned to Yale University where he earned his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1947. He taught at Yale as a professor until 1953. (An avid golfer, Wells helped pay for his Yale education by working as a golf pro in Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and is known as an affluent summer resort. The population was 8,316 at the 2000 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town...
).
Wells married Patricia Brown in 1950. The couple later moved to Mount Airy
Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Mount Airy is bounded on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley, which is part of Fairmount Park. Beyond this lies Chestnut Hill. On the west side is the Wissahickon Gorge, which is also part of Fairmount...
in Philadelphia and had six children.
Career
Wells taught at the University of Puerto RicoUniversity of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
from 1953 to 1956. He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1956 where he taught until his retirement in 1986. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and took a leave of absence from Penn in order to teach in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. Wells drove a Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
van wife his and six children down the Pan-American Highway
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...
in order to reach San José, Costa Rica
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
. The family arrived in San Jose on the same day that the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
astronauts landed on the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
.
He was the author of several books on Latin American including The Modernization of Puerto Rico: A Political Study of Changing Values and Institutions, which was published in 1969.
Wells was an outspoken critic of the United States' support of the El Salvadoran military during the Salvadoran Civil War of the 1980s. Wells was quoted in a 1981 interview, "We are on the wrong side in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
...We are trying to show the Soviets how tough we are . . . at the expense of the desperately poor in El Salvador."
Wells was also an active community activist in Philadelphia. He served as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
to then Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth
Richardson Dilworth
Richardson K. Dilworth was an American Democratic Party politician, born in the Pittsburgh area, who served as the 91st Mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962.-Education and early career:...
on community relations. He also held a post of judge of elections in West Mount Airy from 1962 to 1964. Wells supported housing and neighborhood integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
as president of the West Mount Airy Neighbors in the early 1960s. He also once organized a weekend for 200 families of United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
delegates and employees. The families stayed for the weekend at the homes of local West Mount Airy residents.
Death
Henry Wells died of complications from Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
at his home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows:...
on October 1, 2007. He was 92 years old. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, two sons, and ten grandchildren.