José Gabriel García

José Gabriel García (January 13, 1834 – January 19, 1910) was a Dominican army officer, historian, politician, journalist and publisher. He is regarded as a cultural pioneer as well as the "Father of Dominican History." He was the author of "Compendium of History of Santo Domingo", published in four volumes in 1867, 1887, 1900 and 1906 respectively, and made numerous contributions in the fields of culture, literature and education.

He was the founder of the first Dominican university, the Professional Institute (today University of Santo Domingo), co-founder of the country's first private printing and publishing company, Garcia Hermanos, and founder of the country's first cultural society, "Los Amantes de las Letras" ("Lovers of the Letters"), responsible for establishing the first Dominican theatre and publishing the first Dominincan cultural newspaper, "El Oasis", as well as the first Dominican magazine.