FRANCESC FERRER I GUÀRDIA
BIOGRAPHY
Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia was born in 1859 in the village of Alella in Catalonia. He was a teacher.
His family members were farmers. Francesc Ferrer had thirteen brothers. When he was a child he went to the local school for ten years.
When he was thirteen he started to work and he moved to Barcelona. When Francesc Ferrer was fourteen, he joined the factory workers association Ateneu to study. There, he contacted with the labour movement. Francesc Ferrer first became interested in political movements and he collaborated with them.
In 1879 he worked on the railway from Madrid- Zaragoza- to the border with France. There he met his first wife, Teresa. They had four daugthers: Trinitat, Pau, Llum and Sol.
In 1895 he exiled to France and divorced Teresa and vinater worked and wrote the book in French: L'espagnol practique and he collaborated with the Spanish resistence. At that time he read philosophy books and wrote to Kropotkin, Tolstoi... and he came to the conclusion that only education could change the world.
He met his second wife, Lepoldine, and also Mme. Meunié. When Mme. Meunié died, he received her inheritance, so Ferrer could make his dream The Modern School come true.
In 1901 Ferrer came back to Barcelona and he founded the Modern School. However political, military and religious powers did not like the Modern School. So Ferrer was accused of making the Setmana Tràgica a success and he was sentenced to death.
He was shot at Montjuic castle on October 13, 1909.
I admire him because he died standing up and, looking at the soldiers, he shouted:
--It isn’t your fault!
--I'm innocent!
--Long life the Modern School.
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