Nguyễn Văn Huyên (16 November 1905 – 19 October 1975) was a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

professor and the Minister of Education of Vietnam from 1946 to 1975.

Biography

He was born on 16 November 1905 in Hanoi. His father was a civil servant to the French colonial government. His older sister, Nguyen Thi Mao, graduated from the Indochina Teacher Training College and became a teacher in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. At the age of 18, he and his younger brother, Nguyen Van Huong were sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to study abroad. He received a BA in literature in 1929 and a second BA in 1931 from

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

. He received his Ph.D. in

and taught at the School of

Oriental Languages Asia is home to hundreds of languages comprising several families and some unrelated isolates. The most spoken language families on the continent include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Japonic, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turkic, ...

. In 1934 he was the first Vietnamese to successfully defend his

doctoral dissertation A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His dissertation was on ''"Young Women and Men Singing in Annam"'' and ''"Introduction to Research

Stilt House Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

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"''. He returned home in 1935 and married Vi Kim Ngoc, the daughter of the Governor-General Vi Van Dinh in 1936. In 1938 he joined the Society for the Propagation of the National Language and moved to study at the Antique Far East School. In 1941, he joined the Indochinese Scientific Research Council. He assisted in the founding of the Department of Civil History of Vietnam at Hanoi Law University and participated in activities with the Vietnam Socialist Party. After the

August Revolution The August Revolution (), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 16 August to 2 September 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was ...

in 1945, he was appointed Director of the University of Education, Ministry of National Education and Director of the Institute of Antiques. In November 1946, he was appointed Minister of National Education (now the Ministry of Education) of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and held the post for 29 years until his death.

Death

He died on 19 October 1975. Nguyen Van Huyen Museum located at Hamlet 5, Lai Xa village, Kim Chung commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi retains a collection of his works.

Works

*Divine worship in the South (1944) *Civilization of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

(1944) *Collection by Nguyen Van Huyen (2000)

Family

*Nguyen Kim Nu Hanh (1937-2010), or Nguyen Kim Hanh, former information engineer of the General Railway Administration, author of the memoir "''Next step father"''. *Nguyen Kim Bich Ha, Nguyen Bich Ha, Associate Professor, Doctor of Chemistry, Rector of Nguyen Van Huyen School (Hanoi) *Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, Colonel, Associate Professor, Doctor of Medicine, People's Doctor, former deputy director of the Military Hospital 108. Her husband is GS. People's Teacher Nguyen Lan Dung. *Nguyen Van Huy, Professor, PhD, former Director of

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (; ) is a museum in Hanoi, Vietnam, which focuses on the 54 officially recognised ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is located on a property in the Cầu Giấy District, about 8 km from the city center. The m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Van Huyen 1905 births 1975 deaths Academics from Hanoi Vietnamese academics Education ministers of Vietnam