Sierra, Justo [key], 1848–1912, Mexican educator and historian. He entered the literary life as a romantic poet but later devoted himself wholeheartedly to founding schools, lecturing, and seeking in every way to quicken new intellectual life in Mexico. Sierra was to a large extent responsible for the intellectual renaissance in Mexico early in the 20th cent. He was minister of education under Porfirio Díaz and refounded the National Univ. of Mexico. His best-known work is a history of Mexico showing the growth of national feeling and culture, La evolución política del pueblo mexicano (1900–1902, tr. 1969).
See study by R. W. Weatherhead (1966).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Education: Biographies
