Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, where he is usually referred to as ''Perito'' Moreno (''perito'' means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as one of the most influential figures in the Argentine incorporation of large parts of Patagonia and its subsequent development.
Life and work
Moreno was born to Francisco and Juana Thwaites Madero in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. Raised in a traditional patrician family, he studied in local
parochial school
A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...
s. He shared his spare time with his father searching for artifacts and fossils and, at age 14, created a homemade museum of his extensive collections.
Following graduation in 1872, he participated in the founding of the Argentine Scientific Society. He embarked on the first of the series of scientific expeditions that made him well known: a survey of
Río Negro Territory
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
, largely uncharted country. In January 1876, he reached
Lake Nahuel-Huapi
Nahuel Huapi Lake ( es, Lago Nahuel Huapí) is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, in Argentina. The tourist center of Bariloche is on the southern shore of the lake.
The June 20 ...
in the southern
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, and on February 15, 1877, he discovered and named
Lake Argentino
Lago Argentino is a lake in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, at . It is the biggest freshwater lake in Argentina, with a surface area of (maximum width: ). It has an average depth of , and a maximum depth of .
The lake lies with ...
. He also explored numerous rivers in Patagonia. On March 2, he discovered and named
Mount Fitz Roy
Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.Aymara people of the Andes and
Altiplano
The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...
.
After his return to Argentina, that year he embarked on his second major expedition to the territory of Patagonia. He was taken prisoner by a Tehuelche aboriginal tribe and condemned to death. He escaped on March 11, one day before the appointed execution. During this period he met the Tehuelche chief,
Inacayal
Inacayal (1835-1888) was a cacique (chief) of the Tehuelche people in Patagonia, Argentina who led a resistance against government. They were hunter-gatherers who had a nomadic society, and had long been independent of the Argentine government est ...
, who was hospitable to him. Later Inacayal led a resistance to the government, not surrendering until 1884.
In 1882–1883 Moreno explored the Andes from
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
southward, and in 1884–1885 he made new explorations of the territory south of the Río Negro and of Patagonia. He was appointed as chief of the Argentine exploring commission of the southern territories, and member of numerous European scientific societies. For his contributions to science, Moreno received a doctorate ''
Honoris causa
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
'' from the
National University of Córdoba
The National University of Córdoba ( es, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba,) is an institution of higher education in the city of Córdoba, Argentina.
Founded in 1613, the university is the oldest in Argentina, the third oldest university of t ...
in 1877.
He is also known for his role in defending Argentine interests. He made defining surveys that led to the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. In honor to this contribution, the Argentinian glacier Perito Moreno, was named after him. These surveys and others yielded Moreno a vast collection of archaeological and anthropological data and artifacts, for which he founded an anthropological museum in Buenos Aires in 1877.
Museum director and ''perito''
In 1888, he founded the La Plata Museum of Natural History, the most important of its kind in South America. The scholar Jens Andermann has studied how Moreno's collection of artifacts at these two museums helped establish Argentine history, and the government's claim to its territory. Through these scientific and cultural collections, Moreno contributed to the national mythology. He brought artifacts and materials in from remote regions to be examined, catalogued and studies at the museum in the capital. Andermann has written that such museums of natural history and anthropology "enabled and justified state control of both the natural resources and indigenous populations of Argentina."Adrienne Fast, Review: The Optic of the State: Visuality and Power in Argentina and Brazil by Jens Andermann" , ''WRECK'', Volume 2, number 1 (2008), accessed 14 October 2013 They also helped develop the national narratives being shaped. Moreno served as the first Director of Museo de la Plata, guiding it until 1906.
As director of La Plata Museum of Natural History, Moreno sacked
Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino (born Giovanni Battista Fiorino Giuseppe Ameghino September 19, 1853 – August 6, 1911) was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist, whose fossil discoveries on the Argentine Pampas, especially ...
in 1888, even denying him entry to the museum.
In 1902 Moreno was appointed ''Perito'' (a technical specialist or expert), in which capacity he disproved Chilean claims to the
continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
in the Southern Cone. Moreno proved that many Patagonian lakes draining to the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
were part of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
basin. During the
quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
s, they had become dammed by moraines, which changed their outlets to drain to the west and Chilean territory.
In 1903, Moreno donated some of the land previously given to him in order to establish the Nahuel Huapi National Park. In a letter dated 3 November 1903 to the Minister of Agriculture Wenceslao Escalante, Moreno justified his donation, among other things, by comparing it with the establishment of national parks in the USA. He was appointed assistant director of the National Education Council in 1911 and helped secure funding for the
Bernasconi Institute
The Bernasconi Institute is an architecturally-significant primary school in the Parque Patricios section of Buenos Aires.
Overview
An estate on an eight-hectare (20 acre) property in Buenos Aires' southside became the site of a homemade museum ...
, a landmark primary school built in Buenos Aires. It was constructed on land Moreno sold to Swiss Argentine industrialist Félix Bernasconi. Its archaeological and natural history museums were created in part with his extensive collections of artifacts.
He established the
Scouting and Guiding in Argentina
The Scouting and Girl Guides, Guiding movement in Argentina consists of at least ten independent organizations as well as some international units. Scouting was officially founded in Argentina in 1912, shortly after the publication of "Scouting For ...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
in a tour of Patagonia. He continued to oversee the La Plata Museum well after his official retirement.
In later years Moreno responded to political developments in South America at the time of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
by joining the reactionary
Argentine Patriotic League
The Argentine Patriotic League ( es, Liga Patriótica Argentina) was a ''Nacionalista'' paramilitary group, officially created in Buenos Aires on January 16, 1919, during the Tragic week events. Presided over by Manuel Carlés, a professor at ...
shortly before his death in 1919. Moreno was first interred in a La Recoleta Cemetery crypt. In 1944 his remains were transferred and reinterred at Centinela Isle in
Lake Nahuel Huapi
Nahuel Huapi Lake ( es, Lago Nahuel Huapí) is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, in Argentina. The tourist center of Bariloche is on the southern shore of the lake.
The June 20 ...
.
A species of Argentinian lizard, '' Liolaemus morenoi'', is named in his honor.
Tributes
On 31 May 2012, Google celebrated Francisco Pascasio Moreno's 160th Birthday with a doodle.
Göttingen State and University Library
The Göttingen State and University Library (german: Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen or SUB Göttingen) is the library for Göttingen University as well as for the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and is the state li ...