Francisco José de Caldas

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Francisco José de Caldas, contemporary woodcut
Old banknote with a picture of Francisco José de Caldas

Francisco José de Caldas y Tenorio (born October 4, 1768 in Popayán , today Colombia ; † October 29, 1816 in Bogotá (executed)) was a Spanish-Colombian botanist , astronomer and Latin American freedom hero. Its botanical author abbreviation is " Caldas ".

Life

The son of José de Caldas y Gamba and Vicenta Tenorio y Arboleda studied first in the seminary in his hometown, then in the Colegio del Rosario . He graduated as a lawyer, but was also very interested in mathematics and natural sciences. Caldas therefore joined numerous scientific expeditions to research the then viceroyalty of New Granada , including those led by José Celestino Mutis and Alexander von Humboldt .

After the survey of July 20, 1810, Caldas became editor of the new government newspaper , the Diario Político . After Antonio Nariño came to power in September 1811, Caldas was employed as an engineer. In 1816 he was captured by Spanish royalists and publicly executed on October 29th . When the bystanders asked for the scholar's life, Pablo Morillo , Count of Cartagena is said to have replied: “España no necesita sabios” - Spain does not need any scholars. Francisco José de Caldas was a member of the Freemasons Association .

Honors

The Colombian province of Caldas was named after him in 1905. The genus Caldasia Humb was also named after him . ex Willd. as well as the magazine Caldasia named.

Literary works

  • "El estado de la geografía del virreinato con relación a la economía y al comercio" (1807)
  • "El influjo del clima sobre los seres organizados" (1808)
  • "La Memoria sobre la Nivelación de las Plantas del Ecuador, Historia de Nuestra Revolución, Educación de Menores, Importancia del Cultivo de la Cochinilla y Chinchografía y Geografía de los Arboles de Quina

literature

  • John Wilton Appel: Francisco José de Caldas: A Scientist at Work in Nueva Granada . Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1994.
  • Thomas F. Glick: Science and Independence in Latin America (with Special Reference to New Granada) . In: The Hispanic American Historical Review , Duke UP, Vol. 71 # 2, 5/1991, 307-334.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eugen Lennhoff, Oskar Posner, Dieter A. Binder: Internationales Freemaurerlexikon , revised and expanded new edition of the 1932 edition, (p. 271, Lemma: Caldas, Francisco Jose de ) Munich 2003, 951 p., ISBN 3-7766-2161 -3

Web links

Commons : Francisco José de Caldas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Caldas, Francisco José de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Caldas y Tenorio, Francisco José de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Botanist, astronomer and Latin American freedom hero
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1768
PLACE OF BIRTH Popayan
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 1816
Place of death Bogotá