George Athos Adamson

GEORGE ATHOS ADAMSON Feb. 17, 1908 - Aug. 27, 2003 George Athos Adamson was born in Polydroson, Parnassidos, Greece. He graduated from the University of Athens in 1930 in Industrial Chemistry, and became Laboratory Instructor at the Polytechnic Institute of Athens from 1930 to 1932. In 1932, rather than accepting a scholarship in England for a year, he decided to join his brother, Alexander, and his cousin, George Lucas Adamson, in Manila, Philippines where they opened a small trade school, the Adamson School of Industrial Chemistry and Engineering. George became its Technical Director and in 1935, Dean of the College of Engineering, Adamson School of Industrial Chemistry. In 1940, with its four Colleges (Engineering, Law, Liberal Arts and Education), the Philippine Government granted a Charter to Adamson University which had, by then, an enrollment of 5,000 students, and was housed in a new campus built in the ancient walled city of Manila. When the Philippine Islands were invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army and occupied for three years, the University's laboratories and 75,000 volume library were taken to Japan. The University was destroyed in the battle for the liberation of Manila. George and his wife, Sofia, were severely injured and repatriated to the United States for further hospitalization in San Francisico. In 1946, George opened an office in Los Angeles to export books and equipment f or the rehabiliation of the University which had re-opened in buildings owned by the Order of St. Vincent de Paul. By 1965, when the administration of the University was assumed by the Vincentian Fathers, the enrollment reached 20,000. Adamson University takes pride in its alumni worldwide. George became known as the "Father of Philippine Paper-making", pionerring the manufacture of paperboard from waste paper. Three years on the Bataan Peninsula were devoted to the design and construction of the Bataan P ulp and Paper Mills, manufacturing paper from bamboo. More than 300 workers carried out the multi-million dollar project engineered by the Adamson Engineering Corporation of Pasadena. Other projects included the Fontana Paper Mill, and a contract from the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide pipe linings for carrying pulverized coal. He received the award of Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, from Adamson University in 1982. He retired in 1994 at the age of 86. Adamson University with its eight Colleges a nd a graduate school is celebrating its 71st anniversary this year. His membership in Pasadena Rotary Club, the University Club, Annandale Golf Club and the Pasadena Shrine brought him much pleasure, as did his pride in his family of nieces and nephews, and his 64 years of marriage to his beloved wife, Sofia. Funeral Services will be at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles at Pico and Normandie at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, September 3rd. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Adamso n University Technology Research and Development Center, Manila, Philippines.