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Title:Nathaniel Varney Massaquoi (1905-1962): A Biographical Essay
Author:Smyke, Raymond J.ISNI
Year:1992
Periodical:Liberian Studies Journal
Volume:17
Issue:1
Pages:46-65
Language:English
Geographic term:Liberia
Subjects:educational policy
biographies (form)
History and Exploration
Education and Oral Traditions
Politics and Government
international relations
About person:Nathaniel Varney Massaquoi (1905-1962)
Abstract:This is a biographical essay on Nathaniel Varney Massaquoi (1905-1962). Massaquoi was a member of a distinguished Vai family in Liberia. Educated in Germany during the eventful 1920s, he became a teacher and public servant with a number of firsts to his name. He was the first Liberian to do his secondary and possibly higher education in Germany, he was among the first Vai-Liberians to teach at Liberia College, and he was the first African to be elected to the Executive Board of UNESCO. Implicated in a plot to assassinate President Barclay, he served four years before being rehabilitated, eventually achieving cabinet rank as Secretary of Public Instruction. From 1950 until his death he worked hard at UNESCO and other international fora to promote a continental education policy. Three stages in Massaquoi's life are examined here: his early years, his education in Germany, and his return to Liberia in 1934. The research for this paper stems from a longitudinal study of the Massaquoi family. Notes, ref.