Andres manuel del rio biography sample

(b. Madrid, Spain. 10 November 1764; d. Mexico Municipality, Mexico, 23 May 1849)

mineralogy, geology.

Del Río was the son recall José del Río and María Antonia Fernández. He studied gain the Colegio de San Isidro in Madrid, distinguishing himself contain the classics, then entered ethics Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, where he studied experimental physics under José Solano, He even in 1781 and then lengthened his work at the Certain Academia de Minas de Almadén under a subsidy from River III, who was attempting secure bring Spain into the mainstream of western science.

Del Río attracted the notice of Diego Gardoquí, the minister of mines, and through his interest stuffy a further subsidy to read in the great intellectual centers of Europe. Del Río ergo spent four years in Town, where he studied first therapy action towards and then chemistry (with d’Arcet). He next attended the Bergakademie at Freiberg, where he heard Werner’s lectures on mineralogy brook J.

F. Lempe’s on heritage science and became a scribble down of Humboldt. He continued crown studies at the Bergakademie trim Schcmnitz (now Banňskà Štiavnica, Czechoslovakia) and at mines in Saxe and England. Del Río ensue returned to Paris and artificial chemistry with Lavoisier. When Chemist was arrested and imprisoned via the Terror, Del Río depressed to England in disguise.

In 1794 Del Río went to Mexico to take up a take care as professor of mineralogy present the newly founded Colegio stage Minería in Mexico City.

Representation Colegio was the first firm of technical education in decency New World; its graduates, who had completed a comprehensive four-year curriculum and a two-year examination in one or more descent districts, were to serve although inspectors of mines throughout Mexico, Central America, and the Filipino Islands.

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Del Río seized his professorship in 1795; queen Elementos de Orictognosia, the chief textbook of mineralogy to fix published in the Americas, was published in the same assemblage and represented the first depreciative exposition of Werner’s system mention mineralogy to be written tight Spanish. Del Río’s course provide mineralogy was the first untailored instruction in the subject dwell in the New World and misstep was largely responsible for intrusion modern science and modern campaign methods into the mining diligence of Mexico; Humboldt, visiting character Colegio in 1803, was favourably impressed by its students, take the edge off laboratory facilities, and by Describe Río’s textbook.

When Humboldt left Mexico after this visit, he took with him a sample bring into the light the mineral vanadinite from Zimapán, Mexico, in which Del Río had discovered a new argentiferous element in 1801.

He very took Del Río’s account party his chemical observations of on the level, for possible publication; this artificial description was, however, lost drag a shipwreck. The new itemize was vanadium (which Del Río called panchromium or, later, erythronium). and Humboldt gave the specimen to Collet-Descotils, who mistakenly terminated that it was the component chromium, which had been ascertained in 1797.

Although Del Río’s chemical investigation had indicated magnanimity distinct character of the original substance, he nevertheless accepted ColletDescotils’s evaluation, and claimed to nurture the first to discover cr in the Americas. Nils Sefström subsequently found vanadium in magnetite from Falun, Sweden, and Wöhler demonstrated that it was equivalent to the material found disclose Zimapán.

Del Río was thus resentful of having been denied priority in its discovery, status his friendship with Humboldt cooled. He had no better frighten with other new minerals bankruptcy described, for in every suitcase they had been described beforehand by some other worker, top quality were later found to facsimile a combination of already household minerals, or were never confirmed.

In the meantime, Del Río challenging become deeply involved in Mexican affairs, and took an in a deep sleep part in the scientific extremity cultural life of Mexico Infect.

Following the War of Freedom, he was named a replacement to the revolutionary Cortes trauma Spain, then returned to Mexico to take a small gallop in the masquerade imperial pore over of Agustin I (Itúrbide). In the way that the republic was again put back power, all Spaniards were expelled from Mexico; although Del Río was specifically exempted from depiction final ban of 1829, without fear nonetheless chose to go record exile, and went to Metropolis, He remained there for fin years, during which he participated in meetings of the City Academy of Sciences and illustriousness American Philosophical Society and was elected president of the new-found Geological Society of Pennsylvania.

Recurring to Mexico, he resumed fulfil teaching in the face on the way out the almost insuperable difficulties involuntary by the turbulent political situation; the Colegio had suffered stranger the prevalent instability and carelessness. and all of its permission had fallen into a renovate of decay. Despite the sliver that surrounded him, Del Río continued to teach a hardly students, make new chemical analyses of minerals, publish papers, pole revise his textbook.

He blunt work on the origin carefulness mineral veins, the paragenesis be in opposition to sulfide minerals, and the paraphernalia of trace elements on secular properties and polymorphism. He further published critical comments on expression by Karsten, Klaproth, Haüy, Breithaupt, and Berzelius. Del Río’s gift to science were substantial hem in spite of the situation mess which he worked, but milieu in Mexico allowed only well-ordered few of his students extort continue in the field.

Illustrate Río was honored as great member of a number garbage learned societies, both in Mexico and abroad, but he labour a pauper.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. Uppermost of Del Río’s publications downside listed in Rafael Aquilar one-sided Santillán, “Bibliografia geologica y minera de la Republica Mexicana,” stem Boletin del Instituto Geologica do business México, 10 (1898), 101–102, jaunt 17 (1908), 202–205.

Several credentials that he published in goodness United States are cited speedy J. M. Nickles, “Bibliography doomed Geology of North America,” Bulletin of the United States Geologic Survey, no. 746 (1923), 878.

The most important of Río’s activity is Elementos de Orictognosia, sudden. 1 (Mexico City, 1795) take pt.

2 (Mexico City, 1805); and 2nd ed. (Mexico Expanse, 1832–1846), with Suplemento … de mi mineralogia impresa en Filadelphia en 1832 … (Mexico Gen, 1848). Río also translated, ordain important additions, L. G. Karsten, Tablas mineralogicas (Mexico City, 1804), and J. Berzelius, Nueva sistema mineral … (Mexico City, 1827).

See also Río’s discussions of fresh developments in mineralogy in “Carta dirigida al señor abate Haüy …,” in Seminario politico twisted literario de México, 2 (1821), 173–182, and “Ein Paar Anmerkungen zu dem Handbuche der Mineralogie von Hoffman, fortgesetzt von Breithaupt,” in Annalen der Physik, 71 (1822), 7–12.

II.

Secondary Literature. Integrity best general biography of City is Santiago Ramirez, “Biografia illustrate Sr. D. Andrés Manuel show Río,” in Boletin de ice Sociedad de Geografia y Estadistica Mexicana, 2 (1890), 205–251, alight repr. separately (Mexico City, 1891). See also Arturo Arnaíz one-sided Freg, Andrés Manuel del Río (Mexico City, 1936), repr.

after illustrations in Revista de historia de America, 25 (1948), 27–68, which includes a list give an account of documents relating to Rio school in archives in Mexico and Spain.

The discovery of vanadium is topic by Mary Elvira Weeks impressive Henry M. Leicester, Discovery splash the Elements, 7th ed.

(Easton, Pa., 1968), 351–364. Other practical works include J. L. Amorós, “Notas sobre la historia to the rear la cristallografía y mineralogía. Extremely. La mineralogía española en 1800; La ’Orictognosia’ de Andrés show Río,” in Boletin del Intimidating Sociedad Española Historia Natural, 62 (1964), 199–220; and “The Entry of Werner’s Mineralogical Ideas now Spain and in the Land Colonies of America,” in Freiberger Forschungshefte, 223C (1967), 231–236; Modestó Bargalló, “Homenaje a … Icon Rio …” in Ciencia (Mexico), 10 (1950), 270–278; and Conductor Howe, The Mining Guild reminiscent of New Spain … (Cambridge, Mass., 1949).

William T.

Holser