José Vasconcelos (1882-1959), a Mexican philosopher, sociologist, essayist, educator, and historian, is best known for his four-volume autobiography.

José Vasconcelos was born on Feb. 27, 1882, in Oaxaca, but the family soon moved to Piedras Negras. When José started to school, he walked across the bridge each day to attend classes on the Texas side of the Rio Grande. Later the family moved to various other Mexican cities, and for a time he attended the Instituto Campechano (Campeche Institute) and then, in Mexico City, the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (National Preparatory School) and the law school, receiving his law degree in 1907.

Vasconcelos belonged to the Ateneo de la Juventud (Athenaeum for Young People) and participated in the Mexican Revolution on the side of Francisco Madero and Pancho Villa, meanwhile publishing numerous articles on the activities of Mexican intellectuals. When the revolution triumphed, Álvaro Obregón appointed...