Teodoro "Theo" Rafael Arguelles Yangco (November 9, 1861 – April 20, 1939) was a Filipino businessman who served in a variety of public and civic offices and was considered to be the foremost Filipino philanthropist of his time. He served as the

Resident Commissioner of the Philippines The resident commissioner of the Philippines () was a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives sent by the Philippines from 1907 until its internationally recognized independence in 1946. It was similar to current non-voti ...

from 1917 to 1920. He was the longest-serving president of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(1911–1925) and was called the "Father of the YMCA of the Philippines".

Biography

Yangco was born on November 9, 1861 in

San Antonio, Zambales San Antonio, officially the Municipality of San Antonio ( ilo, Ili ti San Antonio; tgl, Bayan ng San Antonio), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,450 peo ...

. He was the only child of shipping magnate Luis R. Yangco and Ramona Arguelles Corpus, widow of Tomas Corpus, and is of Chinese descent through his father. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree at the

Ateneo Municipal de Manila , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_af ...

in 1880 and graduated from the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

in 1881. He pursued a commercial course at Ealing Commercial College in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 1882 to 1886. Yangco established a shipping company, organized a bus company called TRY TRAN, set up a shipyard, and founded a big department store named Bazar Siglo XX and a huge dry-goods market in Divisoria called Yangco Market. He also became president of Insular Life. He followed his father's practice of investing his surplus earnings in properties suitable for commercial purposes. A member of the Nacionalista Party, Yangco succeeded Manuel L. Quezon, who later became

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

, as

to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

, and he served from March 4, 1917 to March 3, 1920. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1920 and resumed his business activities in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. Yangco was one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and was its president for several years. In 1923, he represented it in the first Pan Pacific Commercial Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii where he eloquently defended the cause for Philippine independence. He died on April 20, 1939. He is buried in the

Manila North Cemetery The Manila North Cemetery (Spanish: ''Cementerio del Norte'') is one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila, Philippines. The cemetery is owned by and located in the City of Manila, the national capital, and is one of the largest in the metropo ...

Legacy

Yangco donated large sums of money to various charitable, religious and civic organizations. Aside from his cash donation, he also donated various parcels of land in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...

and

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

. One of the biggest properties he donated was the 31,031 square meter lot in a commercial area in Manila that became the site of YMCA of the Philippines.Documents related to OCT #2611 in the name of Teodoro R. Yangco dated 1913 and TCT #7253 dated 3/19/17 (re: donation of the 31,031 square meters property to the International Committee of YMCA of NYC)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yangco, Teodoror 1861 births 1939 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni Burials at the Manila North Cemetery Members of the United States Congress of Filipino descent People from Zambales Resident Commissioners of the Philippines Nacionalista Party politicians University of Santo Tomas alumni YMCA leaders Members of the United States Congress of Chinese descent People from the Spanish East Indies