Abraham Phineas Nasatir (1903 – January 18, 1991) was an American educator and historian who specialized in early California and the Mississippi Valley areas. Nasatir was born in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, to Jewish parents who had immigrated from Lithuania. He completed his Ph.D. at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

when he was 19. He largely studied under

Herbert Eugene Bolton Herbert Eugene Bolton (July 20, 1870 – January 30, 1953) was an American historian who pioneered the study of the Spanish-American borderlands and was a prominent authority on Spanish American history. He originated what became known as the ''Bo ...

at UC Berkeley.

Career and contributions

After receiving his Ph.D., Nasatir taught Latin American History for one year at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. Beginning in 1927, taught for 50 years at San Diego State University. In 1986 SDSU named a wing of its social sciences building in his honor. Nasatir was the recipient of four

Fulbright fellowships 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 of ...

, and traveled to France, Spain and Chile for research. He published 19 books, and is credited with publishing some 300,000 pages of documents, studies and translations. He was named Distinguished Professor of the California State College System. He received the Henry R. Wagner Medal of Honor. He presided over the international chapter of

Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha Theta () is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. It has more than 400,000 members, with new members numbering about 9,000 a year through its 970 chapters. Founding Phi Alpha The ...

, an international history honor society.

Personal

Nasatir was one of four children: three boys and a girl. He married Ida Hirsch; they had no children. He actively supported the activities of the California Jewish community. He died from complications of pneumonia at Mercy Hospital in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1985 Nasatir's house was among those destroyed in the Normal Heights Fire, along with 500,000 documents and 2,500 books in his possession. Although this was a truly significant loss, Nasatir had published or used extensively as sources in publication such a large percentage of the documents he had in his possession that the loss was not as devastating as it would have otherwise been. Nasatir himself thanked God that no one was hurt in the fire.''Time'', July 15, 1985
/ref> Nasatir was an Orthodox Jew. He was survived by his wife Ida. Zoe, brilliant French student in a master project, decided to continue the work of Abraham Nasatir completing his findings on the references of the term "California" in French newspapers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nasatir, Abraham 1903 births 1991 deaths People from Santa Ana, California American Orthodox Jews University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Iowa faculty San Diego State University faculty Historians of California 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Historians from California American male non-fiction writers