Julio Cervera Baviera
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Julio Cervera Baviera (26 January 1854 – 24 June 1927) was a Spanish
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
, educator, explorer, and colonial military commander. He was an early pioneer in the development of
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and authored various scientific and geographic books and articles.


Education

Born in
Segorbe Segorbe is a municipality in the mountainous coastal province of Castelló, autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The former Palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli now houses the city's mayor. Segorbe's bull-running week (''semana de Toros'') in ...
, he studied Physical and Natural Sciences at the
University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...
but abandoned these studies to join the Army. He first graduated from the academy of
Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
(1875) and then from the Academy of Military Engineers at
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
(1882).


Work in Africa

He traveled to Morocco in 1877 and published a book called ''Geografía militar de Marruecos'' in 1884, and the Army commissioned him in 1884 to explore this area once more. He published ''Expedicion geografico-militar al interior y costas de Marruecos'' (1885). At the beginning of 1886, Cervera was working in the
photoengraving Photoengraving is a process that uses a light-sensitive photoresist applied to the surface to be engraved to create a mask that protects some areas during a subsequent operation which etches, dissolves, or otherwise removes some or all of the mat ...
industry in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. However, in the summer of 1886, under the sponsorship of the Spanish Society of Commercial Geography (''Sociedad Española de Geografía Comercial''), Cervera, the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
interpreter Felipe Rizzo (1823–1908), and biologist and meteorologist Francisco Quiroga Rodríguez (1853–1894) traversed the Spanish colony of
Rio de Oro 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 ...
, part of
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
, where they made
topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
and astronomical observations in a land whose features were barely known at the time to geographers. They traversed the area between Cape Blanc and
Cape Bojador Cape Bojador ( ar, رأس بوجادور, trans. ''Rā's Būjādūr''; ber, ⴱⵓⵊⴷⵓⵔ, ''Bujdur''; Spanish and pt, Cabo Bojador; french: Cap Boujdour) is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W ...
, reaching
Adrar Adrar (in Tifinagh script "ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ"), a Berber word meaning "mountain", is the name of several areas in Northwest Africa: Algeria * Adrar, Algeria, a town in Algeria * Adrar Province, an administrative division of Algeria * Adrar District, ...
after a journey of 900 km. It is considered the first scientific expedition in that part of the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
. They also signed the treaties of Idjil (near
Atar Atar, Atash, or Azar ( ae, 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭, translit=ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to ...
) with the emir of
Adrar Adrar (in Tifinagh script "ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ"), a Berber word meaning "mountain", is the name of several areas in Northwest Africa: Algeria * Adrar, Algeria, a town in Algeria * Adrar Province, an administrative division of Algeria * Adrar District, ...
and Saharawi chiefs. In 1884, Cervera supervised the construction of a series of
blockhouses A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
around
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
. Between 1888 and 1890, he served as
Military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
in the
Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
of Spain in
Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...
.


Imprisonment

Cervera's work in Spanish Africa earned him the promotion of commander. However, on 19 December 1890 he published a criticism of the Spanish colonial government in Morocco in ''
El Imparcial ''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was a newspaper in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Assoc ...
'', and he was arrested after being tried, and incarcerated in the Santa Bárbara at
Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
in 1891. He was released two years later. After 1894, he served as aide-de-camp to General Manuel Macías y Casado in the latter's assignments as Commander General of Melilla; Captain General of the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
; Commander-in-Chief of the Seventh Army Corps at Valladolid; and Captain General of Puerto Rico.


Spanish–American War

During the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
, he was in charge of defense of
Guamaní Guamaní is a barrio in the municipality of Guayama, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,455. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a ...
, a peak that commanded the road between
Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...
and
Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the c ...
. He was thus involved in the Battle of Guamaní (9 August 1898), and was responsible for repulsing an attack by
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
troops there. After the war, he gained notoriety as the author of a
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
called ''La defensa de
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
'', which supported
Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Manuel Macías y Casado, who had become head of the government of Puerto Rico under the Autonomous Charter created in February 1898 (Puerto Rico soon passed under American control). Its purpose was to support the actions of General Macias before the Spanish public but it ended up criticizing the Puerto Rican volunteers in the Spanish Army. After Spain's defeat against the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Spaniards looked for reasons to explain it. Cervera wrote: "I have never seen such a servile, ungrateful country .e., Puerto Rico ... In twenty-four hours, the people of Puerto Rico went from being fervently Spanish to enthusiastically American. ... They humiliated themselves, giving in to the invader as the slave bows to the powerful lord." A group of angry young '' sanjuaneros'' agreed to challenge Cervera to a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
if the commander did not retract his pamphlet.Protagonistas de la Guerra Hispano Americana en Puerto Rico. Parte II
''1898 La Guerra Hispano Americana en Puerto Rico''
The young men drew lots for this honor; it fell to José Janer y Soler (his "seconds"
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
] were Cayetano Coll y Toste y Leonidas Villalón). Cervera's seconds were Colonel Pedro del Pino and Captain Emilio Barrera. The duel never took place, as Cervera explained his intentions in writing the pamphlet, and all parties were satisfied.


Radio Pioneering

In May–June 1899 the Spanish Army sent Cervera to visit Marconi's radiotelegraphic installations on the English Channel to study the Marconi system with the goal of adapting it for the Spanish Military. He began collaborating with
Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
on resolving the engineering problems of a long range wireless communication, obtaining some
patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
by the end of 1899. On 22 March 1902 Cervera founded the Spanish Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. Cervera brought to the Spanish Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Corporation the patents he had obtained in Spain, Belgium, Germany and England.News, Latest news, The Spaniard Julio Cervera Baviera, and not Marconi, was the inventor of the radio, according to professor Ángel Faus
University of Navarra. 26 October 2005
He established the second and third regular radiotelegraph service in the history of the world in 1901 and 1902 by maintaining regular transmissions between
Tarifa Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...
and
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
for three consecutive months, and between
Xàbia () or () is a coastal town and municipality in the '' comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencia, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated on the side of the Montgó Massif, behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rock ...
(
Cap de la Nau The Cap de la Nau () or Cabo de la Nao (), literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located central-eastern coastal Spain on the Gulf of Valencia, Mediterranean Sea. In English, it is also known as Cape Nao. Geography Cap de la Nau is in the m ...
) and
Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
( Cap Pelat). This was after Marconi established the radiotelegraphic service between the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
and
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
in 1898. Cervera thus achieved some success in this field, but his radiotelegraphic activities ceased suddenly, the reasons for which are unclear to this day.


Other activities

He also worked as a technical instructor, after being appointed on 27 August 1900, as royal commissary at the Escuela Superior de Artes e Industrias de Madrid. After 8 months he became frustrated with his inability to reform the curriculum, and traveled to Europe and the United States from May 1903, where he became interested in instruction via correspondence. He abandoned his military career, and set up the Internacional Institución Electrotécnica, in Valencia in 1903, one of the first
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
programs in the world. It gave degrees for the careers of mechanical engineer, electrician, and mechanic-electrician. He published his ''Enciclopedia científico-practica del ingeniero mecánico electricista'', published in 2 editions (1904, 1915). The institution also published a magazine called ''Electricidad y Mecánica''. The institution later renamed itself the Institución de Enseñaza Técnica, and offered two new degrees: agricultural engineering and therapeutic teacher. It also offered a long-distance language learning program by
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
. Cervera was also responsible for designing the original
Tenerife Tram Tenerife Tram ( es, Tranvía de Tenerife) is a light rail or tram service located on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands in Spain. It is operated by Metropolitano de Tenerife, a limited company now 100% owned by Cabildo de Tenerife. ...
system. He helped build a tramway system in his native Segorbe.


Personal life and political life

Cervera was a
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. He was also a militant Freemason who founded a
masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
in Segorbe. In 1890, he founded, with Felipe de Borbón y Braganza, an order of Masons in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, comprising 12 lodges and 200 masons (the members were Africans,
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...
,
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
). A year later it was integrated with the Spanish G.O. (Gran Oriente).Pedro Sanchez Ferr
Masonería y colonialismo
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Cervera was friends with the republican politician
Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (22 March 183313 June 1895) was a Spanish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Spain for a little over ten weeks, in the summer of 1871, and again for eight months, between June 1872 and February 1873. Biography Born ...
. His political views caused him trouble with his superiors and may have been the reason behind some of his failures. In 1891, he ran as Republican candidate to the
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
for Segorbe, but the
military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
prevented him from running or achieving victory. He tried again in 1893 and was about to act as deputy, when electoral rigging prevented this from happening. In 1908, he obtained a seat in the partial elections as candidate of the ''Partido Republicano Radical'' for Valencia, but did not win again in 1914, when he represented
Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...
. He had married María de los Desamparados Giménez in 1883. They had two girls, Amparo and Pilar, and a boy, who died as a child. With Amparo he spent his last years in Madrid, where he died in 1927.


References


Bibliography

* ''Julio Cervera y la telegrafía sin hilos''. Ministerio de Defensa y Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Madrid 2015.


External links

*
Julio Cervera, sin hilos. "Que inventen ellos" (RTVE a la carta) Reportage on Spanish television
*
PDF
(1.79 MB Download) *

* ttps://archive.today/20070812142649/http://telva.elmundo.es/suplementos/cronica/2005/524/1130623206.html EL ESPAÑOL QUE INVENTO LA RADIO*
Elena de Regoyos «La radio nació en Ceuta y no la inventó Marconi»
*

*
Expedición "Río de Oro" al Sáhara Occidental
* with subtitles. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cervera Baviera, Julio 1854 births 1929 deaths People from Segorbe Spanish inventors Spanish explorers Spanish military personnel of the Spanish–American War Spanish military engineers Radio pioneers History of Western Sahara 19th-century Spanish people Spanish Freemasons