Statue of Jacinto Jijon y Caamaño, an Ecuadorian historian and politician, born in Quito on December 11, 1890.He was the mayor of the city of Quito (the capital of Ecuador) from 1946 to 1948. He was a member of the Ecuadorian parliament and a candidate for the presidency of Ecuador. In Europe, he developed his interest in the sciences, and learned English, French and German. As an archeologist, Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño surveyed pre-Hispanic settlement near the town of Manta.