Serafin Danganan Quiason Jr. (June 15, 1930 – August 13, 2016) was a Filipino scholar and historian. He was the former director

National Library of the Philippines The National Library of the Philippines ( or , abbreviated NLP, ) is the Philippines' official national library, repository of information on cultural heritage and other literary resources. It is located in the district of Ermita, Manila, Ermit ...

and Chairman of the National Historical Institute in the Philippines. He is one of the 1965 TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) Awardees for History.

Early life and education

Quiason was born on June 15, 1930. His brother, Camilo Quiason, would eventually become Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. He married Sonia Narvas, a Professor of Food Microbiology at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

and has a daughter Sonia (Mita), an Information Technology Specialist. He graduated ''cum laude'' with a degree in history at the

in 1952. There, he became a member of the

Upsilon Sigma Phi The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters—an integra ...

. Quiason was a recipient of the

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

- Smith–Mundt Scholarship, under which he finished his MA in Far East history and PhD in history at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1954 and 1962, respectively. He was elected into the

Pi Gamma Mu Pi Gamma Mu or is an international honor society in the social sciences. The society was formed in 1924 at Southwestern College and the College of William & Mary. It is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. History On Decem ...

International Social Science Society and the

Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha Theta () is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. It was created in 1921 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It has more than 400,000 members, with new member ...

International Historical Society.

Career

From 1965 to 1970, Quiason was an associate professor of history in the Department of History of the College of Arts and Sciences in the University of the Philippines Diliman. Later on he became assistant chairman. He also became a visiting lecturer in the University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in 1996. From 1971 to 1975, he served as Secretary-General of the Southeast Asian Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives (SARBICA). He was also an elected member of the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

-based Advisory Council of the International Center of the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). He is a former member of the Ad-Hoc Numismatic Committee of the Central Bank of the Philippines, the UNESCO Advisory Committee for the Study of Malay and Southeast Asian Cultures in 1978, a former Trustee of the Museo ng Malacanan Foundation from 1986 to 1990, a member of the Silk Road Expedition Across Central Asia which was sponsored by UNESCO Paris in 1990, a member of the National Centennial Commission from 1993- 1998, a former regent of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila from January–June 1998, a Project Director of the Museo ng Maynila in 1997-1998 and a Consultant to the Lopez Museum & Library. He is also instrumental in the construction and completion of the Museum of Philippine History and National Historical Building at

Rizal Park Rizal Park (), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of . The site on where the park is situated was ...

Awards and legacy

Quiason was awarded the 1965 TOYM (

The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines The Outstanding Young Men award in the Philippines, formerly known as The Outstanding Young Filipinos from 1996 to 1999, is an annual national recognition awarded to Filipinos between 18 and 40 years of age who have made significant contributions ...

) Award for History. On December 30, 1984, he was given the honorary rank of Commander for the Knights of Rizal. He was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by University of the Philippines Alumni Association in June 2009, the Outstanding Citizen of Quezon City in November 2009, and Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in 2015. In 2018, the National Historical Commission Resource Center was named in his honor.

Death

Quiason died on August 13, 2016, in

Plainsboro, New Jersey Plainsboro Township is a township situated in southern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, the township is an outer-ring suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area ...

. He was 86.

Works

* ''The English Country Trade with the Philippines: 1644-1765'', University of the Philippines Press, Quezon City, 1965 * ''Ang Kasaysayan ng Asya''. S. D. Quiason et al. Phoenix Publishing House, Quezon City * ''Ang Kasaysayan ng Daigdig''. Quiason, Serafin, Bernardita Churchill, and Fe Manghas, C & E Publishing House, Quezon City, 2008 * ''The Japanese Colony in Davao, 1904-1941'', Philippine Social Science and Humanities Review, vol. XXIII, Nos. 2–4, June–December 1958 * ''On Mencius' Economic Principles'', The Fookien Times Yearbook, 1958 * ''The Sampan Trade with Manila Prior to 1702 Chinese in the Philippines'', published by the Philippine Consecration Society edited by Alfonso Felix, v.1, August, 1966 * ''On the Values and Care of our Rare Books in the Philippines''. University of Santo Tomas Library Bulletin, vol. 1, no. 2, April 1968 * ''The National Library in the 70s'', Asian Genealogical Studies ed. By Spencer Palmer, Brigham Young University Press 1972 * ''The Japanese Community in Manila: 1898-1941'', Philippine Historical Review, v.3. 1971 pp. 184–222 * ''On Some Aspects of Dr. Jose Rizal's Attitude Towards Culture'', Nachrichten Der Gesellschaft Fur Naturund Volkerkunde Ostasiens, Hamburg, 117, 1975 * ''Some Notes on Cultural Studies in the Philippines'', East Asian Cultural Studies, v. XVI, nos. 1–4, March 1977 * ''The Tianguia: A Preliminary View of Indigenous Rural Marketing System in the Spanish Philippines''. Philippine Studies vol. 33 (1985) pp. 22–28 * ''The Philippines: A Case of Multiple Colonial Experience'', The Independent Review, May–June 1998 pp. 29–37

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiason Jr., Serafin 1930 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Filipino historians University of the Philippines alumni Academic staff of the University of the Philippines Diliman