Deogracias Villadolid

Deogracias is known for pioneering Philippine tilapia farming in the 1950s, starting with a species of tilapia he brought in from Thailand.

He started working for the newly-formed Fish and Game Administration of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in the early 1930s. He would become the administration's director when it was reorganized and renamed the Division of Fisheries. He would serve in this capacity until after the second world war; by this time the division had been converted into the Bureau of Fisheries. He also served as chairman of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council (now known as the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission).

His son Oscar would serve as Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See at the Vatican from 1991 to 1996.

References:

1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deogracias_Villadolid

2) https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAV363.pdf

3) https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb3243392w

Photo courtesy of Carl L. Hubbs Papers; https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb3243392w