First Hispanic Member of Congress Honored with Portrait in the U.S. Capitol

Today the U.S. House of Representatives honored Representative Rumualdo Pacheco (R-CA), the first voting Hispanic member of Congress, with an official Congressional portrait in the U.S. Capitol.

Representative Pacheco, a Republican, was born in California of Mexican parents. He served with distinction for three terms, first winning election in 1876. His portrait was revealed today by Representative Jerry Weller (R-Ill), who asked the portrait to be commissioned, Members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference (the Republican Hispanics), including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (the Democratic Hispanics) in a ceremony in the House Administration Committee Hearing Room in the Longworth building on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Rumualdo Pacheco was born in Santa Barbara, California on October 31, 1831 and lived a remarkable life. During his life time he served as a senior Civil War Military officer, was a successful landowner and rancher, elected to the California State Senate, became was the first and only Hispanic Governor of California, was a Member of Congress, First Hispanic as a Chairman of a Congressional committee, and was appointed to the U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Central American States. For more information about Pacheco