Felipe de Zúñiga y Ontiveros (1717, in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
– 1793, in Mexico City) was a
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
,
cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
and
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
in
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
during the Spanish colonial period. He was also royal land surveyor and hydraulic and mining engineer.
Together with his brother Cristóbal, he took over the Imprenta Antuerpiana (Antuerpiana Press) in 1752. They remained as sole proprietors until late 1764. By 1767 this was the largest printing establishment in the Americas. In that year
Manuel Antonio Valdés y Munguía
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
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* Manu ...
joined the business. After Zúñiga's death in 1793, Valdés took on
Luis Abadiano
Luis Abadiano y Valdés (born José María Ygnacio Luis Obispo Sotero Gonzaga Abadiano y Valdés; baptised 22 April 1789''Mexico, Select Church Records, 1537-1966'' – ) was a 19th-century printer and publisher in Mexico City, one in a long lin ...
as a partner (about 1821). At the time of Valdés's death in 1831, the firm was the oldest publisher in Mexico.
From 1762 to 1780 Zúñiga y Ontiveros published ''Efemérides calculadas y pronosticadas según el meridiano de México''. These octavo volumes contained information on eclipses and other astronomical phenomena. In 1767 he began publishing ''Guía de Forasteros'', a kind of almanac, which was published each year through 1792, although the name was changed to ''Calendario mensual'' (Monthly Calendar). He also published an updated version of
Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora
Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora (August 14, 1645 – August 22, 1700) was one of the first great intellectuals born in the New World - Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico City). He was a criollo patriot, exalting New Spain over Old. ...
's map of the valley of Mexico.
Zúñiga paid much attention to detail in the works he published, including the typefaces. He spent 50,000 pesos acquiring type from Antwerp and Madrid. He was the first to use type cast in New Spain, by the clockmaker and printer
Dimas Rangel, with whom Zúñiga edited ''Estatutos de la Real Academia de San Carlos'' (Statutes of the Royal Academy of San Carlos) (1785).
He was the author of ''Bomba hidráulica para levantar las aguas'' (Hydraulic Pump to Raise Water) (1770) and a sonnet published in ''Fénix de los mineros ricos'' (1779).
Other works published by Zúniga
*Neve, Felipe de, ''Reglamento para el Gobierno de la Peninsula de Californias'' (1784) — government regulations for the Californias
*Palóu, Francisco, ''Relacion Historica de la Vida y Apos tolicas Tareas del Venerable Padre Fray Junipero Serra, y de las Misiones que fundó en la California Septentrional, y nuevos establecimientos de Monterey'' (1787) — the life and work of Father Junípero Serra, founder of many California missions
*León y Gama, Antonio de, ''Descripción histórica y cronológica de las dos piedras que con occasion del nueve empedrado que se está formando en la plaza principal de Mexico'' (1792) — a description of the Aztec calendar stone shortly after it was rediscovered
References
*"Zúniga y Ontiveros, Felipe de," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 14. Mexico City, 1996, .
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga y Ontiveros, Felipe de
1717 births
1793 deaths
People from Mexico City
Mexican scientists