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Birth of Melchor Ocampo
He was born on the farm in Pateo, Michoacán; the most probable date of his birth was January 5, 1814. It is unknown who his parents were, except for the name of Francisca Xaviera Tapia, single and wealthy landowner who collected and protected him until he was 17 years old, from whom he inherited some properties, like Pateo's. -
Education
His first studies were made in Maravatío. Later he went to the Tridentine Seminary of Valladolid, where he began his bachelor's degree in civil law and canon law in 1827. He concluded those studies in 1830, already as a very outstanding student. In 1831 he entered the University of Mexico, where he studied Law. Around 1833 he joined the law firm of José Ignacio Espinosa Vidarte -
Congress
Back in Mexico in September 1841, he immediately became interested in the political issue, being elected deputy for Michoacán to the Constituent Congress of 1842, which Santa Anna had summoned. At the meeting he fought for federalism, which meant being in opposition to the Santander government. -
Scientific Activity
He entered the Sociedad Filoiátrica de México in 1843; He also created a remedy for rabies, in addition to studying a comet that appeared in that year. He published several scientific articles in various magazines, which gave him great prestige.
In 1845 he made a project for a penitentiary center, in addition to investigating the origin of the tremors in a Michoacan region. -
Gobernator
In 1846, due to constant national political changes, he was appointed interim governor of Michoacán, after which he was elected to the same position. During his government, he managed to reopen and secularize the Colegio Primitivo y Nacional de San Nicolás de Hidalgo. -
Senator
In May he was elected senator of the Republic; by those same days he was appointed corresponding member of the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics. On March 1, 1850, he held the Ministry of Finance appointed by President Herrera, which he resigned on May 13 due to disagreements and returned to the Senate, which he came to preside over. -
Reforma Laws
After the Comonfort coup d'état, Juárez reestablished the constitutional government in Guanajuato and in his cabinet Ocampo appeared in the Ministries of Foreign Relations, Government, Development, War and Finance successively between January 1958 and January 1861. When the government moved to Veracruz, the Reform Laws were enacted, the drafting of which was the responsibility of Ocampo -
Resignation
After his triumph, the liberal government returned to Mexico City in 1861. Once in the capital, due to disagreements with Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, Ocampo resigned his post as Secretary of the Treasury. -
Imprisoned
After a few months of retirement, he received the notice that he would be apprehended by the conservatives, who accused him of treason for the signing of the McLane-Ocampo Treaty. At the end of May, the Spaniard Lindoro Cajiga seized him and handed him over to the troops of Félix Zuloaga, who stood as president of the Republic on the side of the conservatives. -
Shot
He was shot on June 3, 1861, on the orders of Leonardo Márquez –without any cause- at the Jaltengo ranch, near Tepeji del Río, and hung from a tree. His body was rescued and transferred with great honors to Mexico City, where his remains rest, except for the heart, which is in the Colegio de San Nicolás, in Morelia. He was buried the following June 6.
Today his remains lie in the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons.