 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Manuel Artigas" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Manuel Artigas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Manuel Artigas y Cuerva (1866-10-15)October 15, 1866 Tacloban, Leyte, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Died | April 2, 1925(1925-04-02) (aged 58) Manila, Philippine Islands |
| Occupation |
|
| Notable works | Manuel de Empleados (1891) Diccionario Tecnico-historico de la Administracion de Filipinas (1894) |
| Spouse | Luisa Losada y Mijares |
| Children | 12 |
Manuel Artigas y Cuerva (October 15, 1866 – April 2, 1925) was a Filipino journalist and historian who prolifically wrote in the Spanish language.[1]
Artigas was born inTacloban, Leyte, on October 15, 1866. His parents were Miguel Artigas y Rodriguez, a Spaniard fromCadiz, Spain and Soledad Cuerva y Molina of Bulacan. They were originally fromBaler but they moved to Leyte in 1860 when Soledad's father, an officer in the artillery corps, was transferred.
In 1874, his mother moved back to Manila. Manuel attendedColegio de la Immaculada Concepcion. He transferred to theAteneo Municipal as an alumno interno de beca. He took up undergraduate studies in medicine atUniversity of Santo Tomas. After three years he transferred toColegio de San Juan de Letran. In 1883, he became a civil servant.
He was recognized because of his incessant writings and in 1907, he became assistant librarian in the Philippine Section of the American Circulating Library. He initiated Act No. 1849 which created thePhilippine Public Library.[1][2]
In 1919, he was promoted to curator of the Filipiniana division. Then, in 1911, he was appointed chief of the division. Four years later, he was promoted to chief of the Philippine Library, and in 1921, appointed acting director. He rapidly expanded theFilipiniana collection from 829 titles in December 1907 to more than 20,000 titles in December 1914. Artigas did this by acquiring the private collections of James LeRoy,Jose P. Rizal, Jose Clemente Zulueta,T.H. Pardo de Tavera,Mariano Ponce, and theTabacalera. Due to his efforts, the Filipiniana collection of thePhilippine National Library became one of the most complete collection in Philippine studies.
He was a member of the executive board of the Asociacion Historico-Geografica de Filipinas as well as the prestigiousAcademia de la Lengua Filipina. In 1915, he was inducted as an honorary corresponding member of the Real Sociedad Geografica de Madrid, and in 1916 entered the roster of members of the Real Academia de la Historia, and the Academia Hispano-Americana de Cadiz, Spain.
Aside from being a curator, librarian, and historian, Artigas also excelled in the development of Philippine historical studies through his many publications. Artigas wrote the biographies ofAntonio Luna,Apolinario Mabini,Wenceslao Retana,Andres Bonifacio,Graciano Lopez Jaena,Juan Cailles, andMariano Ponce. Apart from these biographies, he also published the multi-volume Galeria de Filipinos Ilustres, a book about important and illustrious Filipinos during that time.
Artigas died on April 2, 1925. His wife Luisa Losada y Mijares and 12 children were left destitute because it is said that he left them nothing but his books.
To supplement his income, Artigas wrote prolifically, basing many of his works on important archival materials:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
