Manuel Iradier
.jpg)
Manuel Fermín Iradier y Bulfy (born July 6, 1854 in Vitoria-Gasteiz , † July 19, 1911 in Valsaín , Segovia province ) was a Spanish explorer and inventor .
Life
Iradier was interested in the natural sciences and geography from an early age . As early as 1868, when he was only fourteen, he founded the Sociedad Viajera (Travel Association) - it was later renamed Asociación Eúskara La Exploradora (The Explorer) - to explore Central Africa . Up until this point in time, almost only the coasts of Africa were known in Europe.
In 1874 Iradier first traveled to Africa to the Gulf of Guinea . He was accompanied by his wife and sister-in-law. This journey ended in 1877 and he had covered 1,876 kilometers in 834 days. A second trip followed in 1884.
After this second trip, countless exhibitions and honors, his life changed and he tried to put some inventions into practice, such as the model of an automatic water meter and a new typographical process that should make printing easier.
From 1901 he lived in Madrid . He died in 1911 in Valsaín, a village in the Segovia province, where he had spent his old age. In 1927 his remains were transferred to the Vitoria cemetery.
Honors
Today a street in the center of his hometown Vitoria is named after him.
Works
- África. Viajes y trabajos de la Asociación Eúskara La Exploradora. Imprenta de la Viuda e Hijos de Iturbe, Vitoria 1887 (2nd edition. AP Cardenal, Bilbao 1901 (= Biblioteca Bascongada 59, ZDB -ID 2507377-1 )).
literature
- Ricardo Majó Framis: Las generosas y primitivas empresas de Manuel Iradier Bulfy en la Guinea Española. El hombre y sus hechos. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid 1954.
- Álvaro Llosa Sanz: Los viajes y trabajos de Manuel Iradier en África: género e hibridismo textual en el relato de viajes en el siglo XIX. In: Revista de Literatura. 134, 2005, ISSN 0034-849X , pp. 557-584, online (PDF; 4 MB) .
Web links
- Biography with photo (spanish)
- Page about Manuel Iradier, with photos (Spanish)
- Website of the Asociación Africanista Manuel Iradier with photo (Spanish)
- Report in the newspaper El Pais (Spanish)
- Literature list in the online catalog of the Berlin State Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Iradier, Manuel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Iradier y Bulfy, Manuel Fermín |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish African explorer and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 6, 1854 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vitoria-Gasteiz , Álava Province , Spain |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 19, 1911 |
| Place of death | Valsaín , Segovia Province , Spain |