Ignacy Domeyko

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Ignacy Domeyko.

Ignacy Domeyko , Spanish form Ignacio Domeyko, (born July 31, 1802 in Niedźwiadka Wielka near Njaswisch , † January 23, 1889 in Santiago de Chile ) was a Polish (Belarusian, Lithuanian) geologist and mineralogist . He achieved fame primarily for his mineralogical research, mining techniques and the discovery of new minerals .

Life

Domeyko was born in the manor house of Niedźwiadka Wielka near Njaswisch in the Nawahradak district in Tsarist Russia (today Mjadswedka in Belarus ). His homeland belonged to the Russian Empire during his lifetime . Domeyko grew up in the Polish-Lithuanian culture, as the area belonged to Poland-Lithuania until 1795 . However, he spent most of his life in Chile . There, but also in Lithuania , Poland and Belarus, he is known as an important personality.

In 1816 Domeyko began studying at Vilnius University. Since then, he has been friends with the romantic Adam Mickiewicz , who is now considered a Polish national poet . In 1822 Domeyko obtained a master's degree from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in Vilnius .

As a result of the November uprising, Domeyko left Poland in 1831 and initially stayed in Dresden for a few months . Here he met Adam Mickiewicz again, who had also fled from Poland. He also attended the Bergakademie in Freiberg , where his uncle Josef Domeyko had studied in 1792.

Shortly afterwards, Domeyko finally emigrated to France to study chemistry and mineralogy at the École des Mines in Paris . After completing these studies in 1837, he devoted himself to practical work and soon found a job in Alsace . A year later he left France and moved to Chile , where he had received a position as professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the Colegio de Coquimbo in La Serena . The facility was founded as a result of the extraordinary boom in silver and copper mining there. In Chile, Domeyko soon used the Spanish spelling Ignacio for his first name .

In 1850 he married the Chilean Enriqueta Sotomayor. The marriage had three children: the daughter Ana and the two sons Hernán Esteban and Juan Casimiro. In 1884 Ignacio Domeyko returned to Europe. He sent his son Hernán Esteban to Rome , where he became a clergyman. He brought the other son, Juan Casimiro, to Paris and Freiberg, where he studied at the Bergakademie. In 1888 both sons finished their studies in Europe and returned to Chile with their father. Ignacio Domeyko fell ill during the voyage and had to go ashore at the first Chilean port, in Talcahuano . He recovered in neighboring Concepción and was later able to continue his journey home to Santiago, where he died a few months later, on January 23, 1889.

The tomb of Domeykos is on the Cementerio General in Santiago. Once erected as a monument to Ignacio Domeyko, the names of numerous of his descendants can now also be found on it.

Ignacy Domeyko's tomb.

research

During his work at the Colegio de Coquimbo in La Serena, Domeyko worked out a curriculum for the mountain school, taught mineralogy, physics, chemistry and the art of tasting, founded the laboratories and collections necessary for this, and wrote textbooks on mineralogy and physics. His varied work soon earned him the recognition and trust of the Chilean government, which appointed him, among other things, a member of the highest court in mining matters and a member of the commission for national public education.

In the summers from 1839 to 1844 he examined the Cordilleras and their minerals. In 1845 he traveled to Araucaria and visited the Mapuche , where he did ethnological research and dealt with the human rights of the indigenous population . In 1847 he was appointed to the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. Here, too, he reformed the university's curricula. From 1867 to 1883 he was rector of this university.

In 1884 Domeyko returned to Europe after having received an honorary doctorate at the University of Krakow for four years. After this time he returned to Chile, where he died shortly afterwards.

Appreciation

The following were named after him:

The UNESCO declared 2002 as the Ignacy Domeyko year . Several commemorative events were held in Chile under the patronage of Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Chilean President Ricardo Lagos .

swell

  • Birgit Seidel: Ignacio and Casimiro Domeyko. In: ACAMONTA - magazine for friends and supporters of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg 2012. P. 165 f.

Web links

Commons : Ignacy Domeyko  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. Ed .: Lutz D. Schmadel. 5th edition. Springer Verlag , Berlin , Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7 , pp.  186 (English, 992 pp., Link.springer.com [ONLINE; accessed on September 13, 2019] Original title: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . First edition: Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1992): “1975 GA. Discovered 1975 Apr. 15 by C. Torres at Cerro El Roble. ”
personal data
SURNAME Domeyko, Ignacy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Domeika, Ignas (Lithuanian); Domeyko, Ignacio (Spanish)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish geologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH Niedźwiadka Wielka near Njaswisch , Belarus
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1889
Place of death Santiago de Chile