Carlos Marquez Sterling; Architect of Cuba’s 1940 Constitution

Carlos Marquez Sterling, 92, a Cuban historian and statesman and chief architect of the country’s 1940 constitution. Marquez led 76 delegates in drafting the document, which recognized all Cubans as equal, called for the breakup of large landholdings, granted citizens the right to work and established alimony and child support. The previous constitution had been written in 1901. Marquez served as speaker of Cuba’s House of Representatives as well as minister of state and minister of education. In 1958, he ran unsuccessfully for president against a candidate backed by Fulgencio Batista. Marquez left Cuba in 1959 after Fidel Castro’s new government placed him under house arrest. He went to New York, where he taught at Columbia University and C. W. Post College on Long Island. After retiring to Miami in 1979, Marquez continued to teach and write. He wrote 20 books, including a biography of Cuban patriot Jose Marti and histories of Cuba and the United States. In Miami on May 3.