Dean Conant Worcester
Encyclopedia
Dean Conant Worcester, D.Sc., F.R.G.S. (October 1, 1866 - 1924) was an American
zoologist, public official, and authority on the Philippines
, born at Thetford
, Vermont
, and educated at the University of Michigan
(A.B., 1889).
From 1899 to 1901 he was a member of the United States Philippine Commission
; thenceforth until 1913 he served as secretary of the interior for the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands. In 1910, he founded the Philippine General Hospital
, which has become the hospital for the poor and the sick.
, published an editorial written by Fidel A. Reyes (1878-1967), its city editor, titled Aves de Rapiña (Birds of Prey), which denounced an American official for taking advantage his office in exploiting the resources of the country for his personal gains.
Although the editorial did not mention names, Worcester felt that he was the public official referred to and filed a libel case against Teodoro Kalaw and Martin Ocampo, editor and publisher, respectively.
The lower court sentenced Ocampo to six months imprisonment and a fine of PhP
2,000 and Kalaw to twelve months imprisonment and PhP 3,000 fine and a verdict for moral and punitive damages for PhP 25,000. The defendants appealed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines
, which affirmed the decision of the lower court and to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, which sustained the decision of the Philippine tribunals. However, Ocampo and Kalaw did not spend a day in jail because Governor-General
Francis Burton Harrison
pardoned them in 1914.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
zoologist, public official, and authority on the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, born at Thetford
Thetford, Vermont
Thetford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,617 at the 2000 census. Villages within the town include East Thetford, North Thetford, Thetford Hill, Thetford Center, Rices Mills and Post Mills. The town office is in Thetford...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, and educated at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
(A.B., 1889).
From 1899 to 1901 he was a member of the United States Philippine Commission
Philippine Commission
The Philippine Commission was a body appointed by the President of the United States to exercise legislative and limited executive powers in the Philippines. It was first appointed by President William McKinley in 1901. Beginning in 1907, it acted as the upper house of a bicameral Philippine...
; thenceforth until 1913 he served as secretary of the interior for the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands. In 1910, he founded the Philippine General Hospital
Philippine General Hospital
The Philippine General Hospital is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila, the University of the Philippines System's Health Sciences Center. It is the largest government hospital administered by the university, and is designated as...
, which has become the hospital for the poor and the sick.
Aves de Rapiña
On October 30, 1908, El Renacimiento, a daily newspaper in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, published an editorial written by Fidel A. Reyes (1878-1967), its city editor, titled Aves de Rapiña (Birds of Prey), which denounced an American official for taking advantage his office in exploiting the resources of the country for his personal gains.
Although the editorial did not mention names, Worcester felt that he was the public official referred to and filed a libel case against Teodoro Kalaw and Martin Ocampo, editor and publisher, respectively.
The lower court sentenced Ocampo to six months imprisonment and a fine of PhP
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
2,000 and Kalaw to twelve months imprisonment and PhP 3,000 fine and a verdict for moral and punitive damages for PhP 25,000. The defendants appealed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...
, which affirmed the decision of the lower court and to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, which sustained the decision of the Philippine tribunals. However, Ocampo and Kalaw did not spend a day in jail because Governor-General
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and appointed Governor-General of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodrow Wilson...
pardoned them in 1914.
Publications
His publications include, besides various papers:- The Philippine Islands and Their People (1898)
- The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon (1906)
- The Philippines Past and Present (two volumes, 1913; new edition, 1914)
External links
- PGH: An American Gift (archived from the original on 2007-01-08)
- American-Philippine Relations: A Guide to the Resources in the Michigan Historical Collections (Article with Dean Conant Worcester) by Thomas Powers