Domingo Figarola Caneda

He directed his life along the path of journalism and letters from 1872, work to which he devoted himself uninterruptedly from 1876, dedicated to the review and criticism of the most important books and magazines published in our homeland or by Cubans, or Cuban matters, abroad. He is recognized in Cuba as the true master of bibliographic studies, only cultivated scientifically before him by Bachiller y Morales (and alongside him his contemporary Carlos M. Trelles).

He was born in La Habana. His first contact with the Spanish colonial regime came when he was implicated in the events of the execution of the 8 medical students on November 27, 1871, when he was in his 2nd year of Medicine. Because of this he was imprisoned along with other students and later was forced to abandon his medical studies. Thus he directed his life along the path of journalism and letters from 1872, work to which he devoted himself uninterruptedly from 1876.

He founded and directed, in October and November of 1883, in La Habana the theatrical newspaper El Argumento.

He was a collaborator of La Ilustración Cubana, a magazine that was published in Barcelona, which he directed from 1887.

He became during the final stage of the War of 95, a fervent revolutionary propagandist.

From emigration in París he defended and disseminated Cuba's cause in its struggle.

He edited and directed there, in Spanish and French, La república cubana.
He was the first director of the Biblioteca Nacional in 1901, the year of its founding, and he donated his personal library to it (3000 pieces). He devoted many of his hours to the Biblioteca Nacional, as he was a bibliographer, researcher, historian and publicist. Thanks to his efforts in 1904 the Biblioteca Nacional acquired a printing press as a donation and 5 years later the first issue of the magazine Biblioteca Nacional appeared.
His meager salary as director of this institution he used in the acquisition of books and in the publication of his works.

Books he wrote
Bibliografía de Rafael M. Merchán (2nd ed. 1905).
El Dr. Ramón Meza y Suárez Idán (1909).
Bibliografía de Luz y Caballero (1915).
Bibliografía de Enrique Piñeyro (1924).

Other works
Colección de manuscritos de la Biblioteca Nacional (1909).
Cartografía cubana del British Museum (1910).
Memorias inéditas de la Avellaneda Anotadas (1914).
Milanés y Plácido (1914).
José Antonio Saco.
Documentos para su vida.
Anotadas (1912).
Plácido (Cuban poet) (1922).
Diccionario cubano de seudónimos (1922).

Publications he directed
Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional.
Anales de la Academia de Historia.
Centón Epistolario de Domingo del Monte and other works of the Academia de Historia, as director of publications of this institution, of which he was a member from its founding in October 1910.

Articles published in the Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional
Figarola Caneda, Domingo.[Letter from Domingo Figarola Caneda addressed to Gerardo Castellanos on the occasion of the latter having published his book titled "Huellas del pasado"]2nd Series, year VII, no. 3, Jul.-Sept., 1955 pp. 185-187.

Article published in El Fígaro
Librínsula, Section: Nombrar las cosas. Figarola Caneda, Domingo. Una habanera altruista. published on August 8, 1909

After his death, his widow published in París the following works that he had left unpublished
La Condesa de Merlín (María de las Mercedes santa Cruz y Montalvo) 1928.
Bibliographic study, critical study in the presence of unpublished documents and all editions of his works.
Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, biography, iconography and bibliography, including many unpublished or published letters written by the great poetess or addressed to her.

Death
He died on March 14, 1926.