Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. was an American educator and politician who lived from January 4, 1927, to March 15, 2022. He was the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet as Secretary of Education.

He was born on the King Ranch near Kingsville, Texas, to a sixth-generation Texan whose father was the foreman of the prestigious Santa Gertrudis cattle division. Lauro F. Cavazos, Sr. and the former Tomasa Quintanilla were his parents.

He was a descendent of Texas Revolution heroine Francita Alavez, the “Angel of Goliad,” through his maternal heritage. General Richard E. Cavazos of the United States Army was his brother.

He received a B.A. and M.A. in zoology from Texas Tech University, as well as a PhD in physiology from Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa, in 1954. [4] He was a member of Kappa Kappa Psi in college.

From 1980 to 1988, he served as President of Texas Tech University and Secretary of Education from 1988 to 1990. Cavazos was Texas Tech’s first Hispanic and alumnus president. In 1990, he was compelled to quit after an investigation into the improper use of frequent flyer miles.

Meet Lauro Cavazos’ Wife Peggy Cavazos

Peggy Murdock, now Peggy Cavazos, is the late Lauro Cavazos’s wife, with whom she was married from 1954 until his death on March 16, 2022. Peggy’s identity, on the other hand, has remained a mystery.