Editing Luis A. Ferré (section)

==Early life==
Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was born in the southern city of [[Ponce, Puerto Rico]] on February 17, 1904. Ferré's grandfather Maurice Ferré Perotín was a French engineer who was involved in the construction of the [[Panama Canal]] before settling in [[Cuba]].<ref name="MIT"/> Ferré's father, Antonio Ferré Bagayado or "Bacallao", was born in [[Havana]], Cuba and grew up there.<ref name="Memoir">[https://books.google.com/books?id=RWniCgAAQBAJ&dq=Luis+Alberto+Ferr%C3%A9+Aguayo++grandfather+french&pg=PA15 Memoir] By Rosario Ferré</ref> As a young man he immigrated to Puerto Rico, where he founded the company [[Puerto Rico Iron Works]], in Barrio [[Playa (Ponce)|Playa de Ponce]], Ponce, Puerto Rico.<ref name="MIT">{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2003/ferre-1029.html|title=Luis Ferré, former governor and Corporation member|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|date=October 29, 2003|access-date=October 1, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elboricua.com/PresidentialMedalofFreedom.html|title=El Boricua, a bilingual, cultural publication for Puerto Ricans|website=www.elboricua.com}}</ref> In Puerto Rico, Antonio Ferré met and married María Aguayo Casals, a cousin of both [[Catalonia|Catalan]] cellist [[Pablo Casals]] (whose [[Pilar Defilló Amiguet|mother]] was a Puerto Rico-born Catalan musician) and Carmelita Defilló Sanz (wife to Dominican politician and historian [[Manuel Arturo Peña Batlle]] and mother of Dominican paintist [[Fernando Peña Defilló]]).<ref name="MIT"/> Antonio and María had four sons, Luis, [[José Ferré|José]], Carlos and Hermán Ferré, and two daughters, Rosario and [[Isolina Ferré|Isolina]]; the latter would become a nun of international prominence.<ref name="MIT"/>

Ferré studied [[mechanical engineering]] at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], obtaining his bachelor's degree in 1924 and master's degree in 1925, and music at the [[New England Conservatory of Music]]. While at MIT he was part of the Army ROTC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/luis-ferre-obituary.htm|title=Former Puerto Rican Gov. Luis A. Ferré dies|publisher=The Miami Herald|date=October 22, 2003|access-date=October 1, 2007}}</ref> While living in Boston, Ferré developed an admiration for the "American way of democracy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/10/21/obit.ferre.ap/|title=Luis Ferre, prominent Puerto Rican figure, dies|publisher=CNN|date=October 21, 2003|access-date=October 13, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080412032809/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/10/21/obit.ferre.ap/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = April 12, 2008}}</ref>