Enrico Mosconi (1843-1910) was an Italian engineer and the father of the General

Enrique Mosconi Enrique Carlos Alberto Mosconi (21 February 1877 – 4 June 1940) was an Argentine military engineer, who is best known as the pioneer and organizer of petroleum exploration and extraction in Argentina. Early life Mosconi was born in Buenos A ...

. He actively participated in the construction of the

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the Argentine Republic.

Biography

Enrico Mosconi was born in 1843 in Milan, Italy, the son of Domenico Mosconi and Maria Tirola, belonging to a distinguished Lombard family. He did his university studies in his native country, and arrived in Buenos Aires about 1869, for work related to construction of the

Central Argentine Railway The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establish ...

. Settled permanently in Argentina, Enrico Mosconi worked as an engineer for the laying of a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

network. In

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 28th ...

he was commissioned to draw a plan for railway línes. By the mid-1870s, he was entrusted to perform work in the Cuartel of Retiro, and he was also hired to do work for the Ferrocarril del Sud. Mosconi had an extensive career as an entrepreneur linked to the railroad business. He was the owner of the Enrique Mosconi y Cía, a steam

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

company that operated in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

towards the end of the 19th century. He was closely linked to the Italian community of Santa Fe. On February 25, 1888 he founded the city of

Villa Gobernador Gálvez Villa Gobernador Gálvez is a city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Argentina, located on the western ravine of the Paraná River, within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario. It had 74,509 inhabitants per ...

, and created a journal for the Italian community in the city Rosario. He is registered with his brother Eduardo Mosconi, serving as commissioners of the Censo general de poblacion, edificacion, comercio é industria de la ciudad de Buenos Aires of 1889.

Family

He married María Juana Canavery, born in the city to Tomás Canaverys and Macedonia Castillo, belonging to a distinguished patrician family.. She was the great-granddaughter of Juan Canaverys, an Italian of French or

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry who had an active participation during the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

. He and his wife made several trips to southern European cities, including Milan, Italy where his daughter Ernestina was born. His wife died on September 14, 1881 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France, after giving birth to Ricardo Mosconi. Enrico Mosconi returned to Buenos Aires that year with the two youngest children, leaving the older children in a prestigious school located in the Alpes-Maritimes region. His second wife was María Luisa Matti, born in Buenos Aires, the daughter of Guillermo Matti and Hermenegilda Pagani, natives of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. His father-in-law was an entrepreneur, linked to the construction of the Buenos Aires

Campana Campana (Italian and Spanish for "bell") may refer to: Places * Campana Partido, Argentina, a ''partido'' (administrative subdivision) in Buenos Aires Province ** Campana, Buenos Aires Province, a city in Campana Partido * Campana Island, Capit� ...

railway). In Buenos Aires he maintained friendly ties with distinguished members of the local aristocracy, including

Roque Sáenz Peña Roque José Antonio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Sáenz Peña Lahitte (19 March 1851 – 9 August 1914) was an Argentine politician and lawyer who served as President of Argentina from 12 October 1910 to his death in office on 9 August 1914. ...

Adolfo Alsina Adolfo Alsina Maza (January 4, 1829 – December 29, 1877) was an Argentine lawyer and Unitarian politician, who was one of the founders of the Autonomist Party and the National Autonomist Party.Ione S. Wright and Lisa M. Nekhom, ''Histori ...

, godfather of María Mosconi Canavery, and

Carlos Pellegrini Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini Bevans (October 11, 1846 – July 17, 1906) was Vice President of Argentina and became President of Argentina from August 6, 1890 to October 12, 1892, upon Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation (see Rev ...

, godfather of Guillermo Mosconi Matti. He also had excellent relations with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Irish community of Argentina. His niece Sara Mosconi was married to Juan Bird Guillon, belonging to a family of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. In 1888 Enrico Mosconi acquired land in the town Los Algarrobos ( San Martín Department), belonging to Agustín Hamilton Johnston, born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Mosconi suggested the change of the denomination of the town in honor of his friend

, whose mother Mary Bevans Brigh was originally from London, England.

References

External links

Matrimonios 1871-1874Bautismos 1878
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosconi, Enrico 1843 births 1910 deaths Engineers from Milan People from Buenos Aires People from Rosario, Santa Fe Canaveri family Patrician families of Buenos Aires