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Basque Studies Program Newsletter · Issue
50, 1994
Jon Bilbao: 1914-1994
By Linda White
Jon Bilbao, Bibliographer Emeritus and one of the
founding spirits of the Basque Studies Program, died on May
22, 1994, in Gorliz, Bizkaia (Spain). Jon joined the
University of Nevada in 1968. He was instrumental in
building the Basque Studies Program Library. Under his
guidance the library became a major collection that
continues to attract scholars from around the
world.
After his retirement from the University of Nevada,
Jon returned to the Basque Country to live in Getxo,
Bizkaia. He founded Eusko Bibliographia (the Institute of
Basque Bibliography) and Harriluze, an institute dedicated
to the study of the Basque diaspora. Among his many
publications are Eusko Bibliographia (nine volumes),
Los Vascos en Cuba, and Amerikanuak: Basques in
the New World (with William A.
Douglass).
Jon affected many of us at the Program in various
ways. We offer in this issue a few photographs and some
words of remembrance for a man who played a monumental role
in shaping what we do here.
Jon Bilbao was a man who contributed to the history
of his time, not just as an observer but also as a
participant. He continued his scholarly work until he was
hospitalized with his first stroke, and he was left behind
organizations that are dedicated to carrying on the tasks
and interests that were so important to
him.
In the Basque Studies Program, Jon knew the location
of every book on every shelf. He seemed to know each visitor
personally and lent a sense of dignity and class to every
occasion. His concentration was intense, and he was often
startled to find other people in the Library because he had
been so focused on his own work that he had not noticed them
enter.
Jon Bilbao lived in a bilingual world, and we often
began a conversation in English and would switch to Spanish
without realizing it. The content of a conversation was much
more important to him than the language it was shared in,
and this became evident to me on the day he approached my
desk and asked me in all seriousness, “Linda, do you
speak Spanish?”
Jon Bilbao was for me a teacher, a boss, and a
colleague. He was for many years the heart of the
Program’s library, and we remember him every
day.
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