Molina Bedoya, Felipe (1812–1855)

Felipe Molina Bedoya (b. 30 April 1812; d. 17 February 1855). Central American politician and diplomat. He was born in Granada, Nicaragua, into the family of the independence heroine Dolores Bedoya and the prominent Guatemalan patriot and statesman Pedro Molina. As a member of the Liberal government that was deposed in April 1839, Molina was forced to immigrate to Quetzaltenango. In 1843 he joined his father and brother, José, in Costa Rica. A more stable political climate allowed the family to return to Guatemala in 1845. Molina was able to obtain his law degree before a new political crisis compelled him to leave Guatemala once again in 1847. He traveled in Chile and Peru before settling in Costa Rica. In 1849, President José María Castro appointed him to serve as Costa Rican ambassador to Nicaragua and then to England. Through his efforts, Costa Rica was able to secure an advantageous commercial treaty with England. He then spent some time in France and Spain before moving to the United States in 1851, the year in which his History of Costa Rica was published. He died in Washington, D.C.

See alsoBedoya de Molina, Dolores; Molina, Pedro.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carlos C. Haeussler Yela, Diccionario general de Guatemala, vol. 2 (1983).

Federico Hernández de León, El libro de las efemérides, vol. 5 (1925).

Felipe Molina, Bosquejo de la República de Costa Rica, seguido de apuntamientos para su historia (1851) and Costa Rica and New Granada (1853).

                                         Jorge H. GonzÁlez