Nicolas Zafra (21 December 1892 - 7 January 1979) was a Filipino

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and educator. He was professor emeritus of

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

. He died on January 7, 1979. He was the president of the

Philippine Historical Association The Philippine Historical Association (''Kapisanang Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas'' in Tagalog) is a professional association of historians in the Philippines and is considered one of the oldest organizations of historians in the country. It was f ...

in 1962 and was a recipient of the Cultural Heritage Award of the Philippines in 1969.

Early life and education

Zafra was born on December 21, 1892 in

San Fernando, La Union San Fernando City, officially the City of San Fernando ( ilo, Siudad ti San Fernando; fil, Lungsod ng San Fernando), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

. His parents were Pia Alviar and Eugenio Zafra. He had two sisters, Maria Zafra Susara and Mercedes Zafra and two brothers, Balbino Zafra and Dr. Urbano Alviar Zafra (genealogy of Zafra family.) The Zafra family was quite active in local politics. He obtained his elementary and part of his secondary education in San Fernando. He studied at Manila High School, where he graduated in 1912. In the

, he acquired three degrees: Bachelor of Arts in 1916, Bachelor of Education in 1918, and Master of Arts, major in history, in 1920. From 1939 to 1940, he pursued graduate studies in history at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Career

Zafra began his career in 1917, as assistant instructor in the department of history of the U.P. He became full professor and head of the history department in 1948, serving as such for a full ten years. Still head of the history department, he was appointed member of the Social Science Research Center (SSRC) upon its organization under its chairman Dean Tomas Fonacier of the U.P. College of Liberal Arts. From 1952 to 1953, he was a

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 ...

research grantee. In 1955, he was invited by the American Academy of Asian Studies in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

as its visiting professor. He was a member of the

, Philippine National Historical Society, National Research Council of the Philippines, and the International Association Historians of Asia. He was the president of the Philippine Historical Association in 1962. He also undertook investigations and research into Philippine historical landmarks and personalities, both prominent and obscure, as well as prepared and wrote historical biographies, particularly of the members of the

Malolos Congress The Malolos Congress (also known as the Revolutionary Congress), formally known as the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. Members were chosen in the elections held from June 23 to Septe ...

, and the text of various historical markers. In 1963, the University of the Philippines conferred on him the rare title of professor emeritus of history. He also received the Cultural Heritage Award, which the Philippine government presented to him in 1969. Zafra was married to fellow academician Professor Luz Alzona. He had two daughters: Sister Lourdes, a nun, and Felicidad.

Main works

*''Historicity of Rizal’s Retraction'' (Bookmark, 1961). In this book, he defended the retraction, and called it "a plain, unadorned fact of history, having all the marks and indications of historical certainty and reality." *''A Short History of the Philippines'' (1966) *''Philippine History Through Selected Sources'' (1967) *''Oriental History'' (co-authored with Ganzon).

References

*Alfonso, Oscar M. Editor. ''University of the Philippines The First 75 Years 1908-1983.'' Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1985. *Fancia, Nancy. “History Without Hesitation: The Birth Centennial of Historian Nicolas Zafra.” ''Philippine Panorama.'' December 20, 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zafra, Nicolas 20th-century Filipino historians People from San Fernando, La Union University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni 1892 births 1979 deaths University of the Philippines faculty University of the Philippines alumni