Joseph Joffre

Marshal Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɔsɛf ʒɔfʁ]; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931), was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in September 1914.

His political position waned after unsuccessful offensives in 1915, the German attack on Verdun in 1916, and the disappointing results of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme in 1916. At the end of 1916 he was promoted to Marshal of France, the first such promotion under the Third Republic, and moved to an advisory role, from which he quickly resigned. Later in the war he led an important mission to the USA.

His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.

Early career

Joffre was born in Rivesaltes, Pyrénées-Orientales, the son of a family of vineyard owners. He entered the École Polytechnique in 1870 and became a career officer. He first saw active service as a junior artillery officer during the Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. After the end of the war he underwent further training at the École Polytechnique before transferring to the génie (engineers). Joffre subsequently spent much of his career in the colonies as a military engineer, serving with distinction in the Keelung Campaign during the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). As a major, he led a column from Ségou to Timbuktu in Mali, where he recovered the remains of Lt.-Col. Bonnier, who had been killed on a recent expedition. His mission killed over a hundred Tuareg and captured fifteen hundred cattle. He was promoted as a result. He served under Joseph Gallieni in Madagascar.

Juan Figueroa

Juan Figueroa is president of Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut and former president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. In 2010, he pursued the Democratic Party nomination for governor of Connecticut.

Biography

Born and raised in Ciales, Puerto Rico, Figueroa is the grandson of tenant farmer Don Claudio Figueroa Colon and the son of Juan Figueroa Nazario, a Korean War veteran, and his wife Josefa Agosto Rosario, a seamstress and chaplain. He attended Macalester College on scholarship and earned a law degree from Santa Clara University. He and his wife, Helene Figueroa, live in Meriden, Connecticut and have one daughter.

Professional and political careers

After Figueroa's undergraduate studies, he moved to New Hampshire and worked as a community organizer, going door-to-door to organize Latinos regarding employment and educational issues. Following law school, Figueroa moved to Hartford and served as an Assistant Attorneys General, where he litigated day care center abuse cases and violations of environmental laws. Subsequently, he won election to the Connecticut General Assembly from Hartford's Third District. After three terms, he left the legislature to become the president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (now "LatinoJustice PRLDEF"), a national civil rights group based in New York City.

Pérez

Perez is a surname with at least two distinct origins: One, written as Pérez, is a Spanish surname meaning "son of Pero, Pedro, or Peter." In Portuguese the surname is written with a final "s" instead of "z" and without the accent.

The other is a Hebrew surname Perez or Peretz, derived from Perez (son of Judah) (Hebrew פרץ cf. Genesis 38:29), meaning to "breach or burst forth." The Hebrew name Perez is transliterated Farés in the Spanish Christian Bible.

The name rarely occurs as a first name.

Pronunciation

In Castilian Spanish, the name is pronounced [ˈpeɾeθ] and in Latin America, [ˈpeɾes]. The accent or stress is placed on the second-to-last syllable as with all Spanish patronymic surnames.

In Modern Hebrew: [ˈpeʁets]. EL CABALLO

List of persons with the surname