Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz (October 22, 1798 – November 6, 1857) was a prominent Peruvian scientist, geologist, mineralogist, chemist, archaeologist, politician and diplomat. His publications about his discovery of
Humboldtine Humboldtine is a rarely occurring mineral from the mineral class of "organic compounds" with the chemical composition FeC2O4•2H2O and is therefore a water-containing iron(II) oxalate or the iron salt of oxalic acid. Humboldtine crystallizes in ...
(an iron-
oxalate Oxalate (IUPAC: ethanedioate) is an anion with the formula C2O42−. This dianion is colorless. It occurs naturally, including in some foods. It forms a variety of salts, for example sodium oxalate (Na2C2O4), and several esters such as dimethyl o ...
), demonstrating the existence of organic-minerals; about deposits of
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. T ...
(saltpeter) near
Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...
in the
Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...
; about bird-
guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
and
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
in
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
and their possibilities of industrialization as well were forward-looking and made him a pioneer of mining education in South America and the most notable Peruvian scientist of the 19th century.


Biographical highlights

Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz was born in
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
. His parents were Antonio Salvador de Rivero y Araníbar, captain in the Spanish Royal Army in the
viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...
, and Maria Brígida de Ustariz y Zúñiga. Rivero was born in a liberal Creole family in southern Peru at the end of the colonial period. He was first educated at the Seminary of San Jerónimo in Arequipa. After noticing his aptitudes and qualifications, his family sent him to Europe and, at the age of twelve in 1810, he started his European education in England, a major rival of Spain at the dawn of the wars of independence. He attended a Catholic School directed by Dr. Dowling in London. There, he focused on mathematics, physics, and languages (English, French, and German). Once he completed secondary school and some advanced classes in 1817, he moved to France, where he studied at the
École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
and then the École des Mines (
Mines ParisTech Mines Paris - PSL, officially École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris (until May 2022 Mines ParisTech, also known as École des mines de Paris, ENSMP, Mines de Paris, les Mines, or Paris School of Mines), is a French grande école and a c ...
), both in Paris. At the École des Mines, he learned from many of the most prominent scientists of that time and specialized in mineralogy and chemistry. Among his professors, there were
Joseph Louis Proust Joseph Louis Proust (26 September 1754 – 5 July 1826) was a French chemist. He was best known for his discovery of the law of definite proportions in 1794, stating that chemical compounds always combine in constant proportions. Life Joseph L. ...
,
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (, , ; 6 December 1778 – 9 May 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (with Alexander von Humboldt), for two laws ...
,
Alexandre Brongniart Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil content ...
,
Pierre Berthier Pierre Berthier (; 3 July 1782, Nemours, Seine-et-Marne – 24 August 1861) was a French geologist and mining engineer. Pierre Berthier was born in Nemours. After studying at the École Polytechnique, he went to the École des Mines, where he b ...
, and
René Just Haüy René Just Haüy () FRS MWS FRSE (28 February 1743 – 1 June 1822) was a French priest and mineralogist, commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre Dame. Due to his innovative work on crystal structure and hi ...
. A major event in Rivero's life was his encounter with
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
. The German savant provided him with letters of recommendation that opened to him the doors of several European academic circles. Among them, Rivero completed his mineralogical training at the Freiberg School of Mines, Humboldt's alma mater, where he conducted his first fieldwork. During this long trip throughout Europe, he also visited mines in France and Spain, where he further improved his knowledge of mining techniques. His return to the Americas also occurred under the tutelage of Humboldt. In 1822,
Francisco Antonio Zea Juan Francisco Antonio Hilarión Zea Díaz (23 November 1766 – 28 November 1822) was a Neogranadine journalist, botanist, diplomat, politician, and statesman who served as Vice President of Colombia under then President Simón Bolívar. He wa ...
delivered a
Simon Bolívar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
's letter to Humboldt. There Bolívar asked Humboldt to send a scientific mission to both investigate the natural resources of the new Republic of the
Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 18 ...
and to establish a museum of natural history as well as a mining school. The German scholar, who saw Rivero as a prominent disciple, named him head of the mission. After three years in which he maintained a constant correspondence with his European colleagues, Rivero left Colombia because of a lack of economic and political support. Bolívar then recommended his recruitment to the Peruvian government for the development of similar projects. From 1826 onwards, Rivero undertook several enterprises in his home country: he fostered a scientific journal, founded the first National Museum, created the School of Mines, served as prefect in mining regions, published extensively on mineral resources, and wrote the first antiquarian study of postcolonial Peru: Antigüedades peruanas. This book was published in Vienna in 1851 upon his return to Europe and was translated into English, French, and German soon after. Reinserted in the European academic world, he gave several talks on Peruvian resources and antiquities until he died in Paris in 1857, directly after publishing a collection of his scientific memoirs in Brussels. Mariano Eduardo married on February 18, 1840, with Agueda Escolástica Pacheco de Salas y Salazar. They had four children, but only their daughters Candelaria and Francisca Guillermina survived childhood.


Scientific career

He discovered a new mineral originated in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
(now Czech Republic) and called it Humboldtine (an iron-oxalate), in honor to Alexander von Humboldt, his mentor and friend. He published his first scientific works about that issue among others in 1821 in France. The president of Gran-Colombia, the liberator
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...
, decided to contract European scientists to investigate the available sources of his new formed nation, and to push with that the development of natural sciences and mining technology in South America at all. Bolivar's main target of that project was to develop the economy of the young nation. The minister of Gran-Colombia in Paris,
Francisco Antonio Zea Juan Francisco Antonio Hilarión Zea Díaz (23 November 1766 – 28 November 1822) was a Neogranadine journalist, botanist, diplomat, politician, and statesman who served as Vice President of Colombia under then President Simón Bolívar. He wa ...
, contracted Mariano Eduardo in May 1822, who had been highly recommended by Alexander von Humboldt, to found and to manage a mining school in Bogotá together with a group of young European scientists. Therefore, Mariano Eduardo made the necessary trip preparation. He bought some laboratory equipment and ordered constructions of precisions instruments for certain measurements. Mariano Eduardo returned to South America and arrived in November 1822 at
La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
with the French chemist
Jean Baptiste Boussingault Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault (2 February 1801 – 11 May 1887) was a French chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural science, petroleum science and metallurgy. Biography Jean-Baptiste Boussingault – an agric ...
. They studied in Venezuela the thermal springs of Mariara and Onoto, the exploitation of mineral salts in Urao Lake and the secretion of the cow-tree (this tree produces drinkable milk) and he also made barometric observations. They left Venezuela and arrived in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, in May 1823 where encountered with general Bolivar. He inaugurated in Bogotá a museum of natural history and a mining school in November 1823 as its first director. Mariano Eduardo and his scientific group did expeditions to the orient plain of Colombia. He published the report ''Itinerario de los Llanos de San Martín y del río Meta in his Colección de memorias científicas …'', printed in 1857. Simón Bolívar (president of Gran-Colombia 1819-1830 and also president of Peru 1824-1827) enabled Manuel Eduardo's return to his home country Peru. Mariano Eduardo left Bogotá and arrived in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
at the end of 1825. The government of Peru appointed him in March 1826 as general director of mining, agriculture, public instruction and museum. He founded in 1828 the first Mining School of Lima (today Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería) and the first National Museum of Natural History, Antiquities and History of Peru (today
Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú The Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú (English: ''National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru'') is the largest and oldest museum in Peru, located on Plaza Bolívar in the Pueblo Libre district ...
). Mariano Eduardo made scientific studies, traveled through Peru and founded in Lima with Nicolas Fernandez de Piérola a journal of natural sciences (''Memorial de Ciencias Naturales y de Industria Nacional y Extranjera''), where he published between 1827 and 1829 a lot of scientific articles and papers about amalgamation of silver, exploitation of guano, analysis of the mineral water from the thermal springs of Yura and other locations in Arequipa, reports of the visited mine areas in Peru and description of gold, silver and ceramic idols. In 1829 general
Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente (8 September 1796 – 14 March 1878) was a Peruvian politician who also served in the Peruvian military. He briefly served as President of Peru from June 7 to September 1, 1829. Gutiérrez de la Fuente was born i ...
made a revolt against the government and became the new president of Peru. He cut the position of the direction of mining, because of actual economic crisis. This and the unstable political situation in Peru induced Mariano Eduardo to leave Peru and to immigrate to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, where he made studies about meteorology, mineralogy and geology.


Political career

He returned to
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
in 1832 and got back to his previous position, continued his scientific activities and started in addition a political career. He had been elected in 1832 as a deputy to the congress for the province of Caylloma (department of
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...
). General
Felipe Santiago Salaverry Felipe Santiago de Salaverry (1805 in Lima, Peru – February 19, 1836 in Arequipa, Peru) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who served as the 6th President of Peru. He studied in the College of San Carlos in Lima. When José de San Martí ...
, president of Peru (1835–1836), appointed him in 1835 to become his counselor. Under the presidency of general
Agustín Gamarra Agustín Gamarra Messia (August 27, 1785 – November 18, 1841) was a Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 4th and 7th President of Peru. Gamarra was a Mestizo, being of mixed Spanish and Quechua descent.Larned, Smith, Seymour, She ...
(1838–1841) Mariano Eduardo was appointed as inspector of public works. In 1839 he was custom chief officer of Arica (today Chile). During the presidency of marshal
Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest pr ...
(1844–1851 and 1855–1862) Mariano Eduardo was appointed in 1845 to become governor of
Junín Region Junín may refer to: Places Argentina *Junín Partido **Junín, Buenos Aires *** Junín Airport * Junín Department, Mendoza ** Junín, Mendoza * Junín Department, San Luis *Junín de los Andes, Neuquén Colombia *Junín, Cundinamarca *Juní ...
(central Peru) and in 1848 governor of the department of
Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Pr ...
(south Peru). As governor of Junin he founded the city of San Ramón and a central mining school in
Huánuco Huánuco (; qu, Wanuku) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huán ...
as well.


Diplomatic career

The president of Peru, marshal
Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest pr ...
, appointed him in 1851 as General Consul in Belgium. He was awarded by the king of Belgium with the Leopold Order and by the king of Denmark with the Dannebrog Order in appreciation his diplomatic performance. He published in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
1851 with
Johann Jakob von Tschudi Johann Jakob von Tschudi (25 July 1818 – 8 October 1889) was a Switzerland, Swiss Natural history, naturalist, explorer and diplomat. Biography Tschudi was born in Glarus to Johann Jakob Tschudi, a merchant, and Anna Maria Zwicky. He studied ...
, acting as co-author, their common publication ''Antigüedades Peruanas'' about the
Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
. That book was a profound work about the Inca Empire, its history, origin, government system, scientific knowledge, language, religion, customs and monuments. He published in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
1857 his work ''Colección de memorias científicas, agrícolas e industriales publicadas en distintas épocas, etc.''. That work, a book in 2 volumes, was a collection of his already published articles about natural science, geology, mineralogy, mining and agriculture. Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz died in Paris on November 22, 1857.


Published works

*Rivero y Ustariz, M. de /1821/ "Note sur une combinaison de l'acide oxalique avec le fer trouve a Kolowsereux, prés Belin, en Bohême". ''
Annales de chimie et de physique __NOTOC__ ''Annales de chimie et de physique'' ( French for ''Annals of Chemistry and Physics'') is a scientific journal founded in Paris, France, in 1789 under the title ''Annales de chimie''. One of the early editors was the French chemist Ant ...
'', Paris, 18 : 207-210 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de /1821/ "Note sur le cuivre muriate du Pérou, et sur le nitrate de soude trouve dans le district d’Atacama, prés du port de Iquique". ''Annales de chimie et de physique'', Paris, 18 : 442-443 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de /1821/ "Note sur le nitrate de soude découvert dans le district de Tarapacá au Pérou". ''Annales de Mines'', Paris, 6 : 596 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de and Boussingault, J.B. /1824/ "Mémoire sur différentes masses de Fer qui ont trouvés sur la Cordillère orientale des Andes". ''Annales de chimie et de physique'', 25:438-443 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de and Boussingault, J.B. /1825/ "Mémoire sur le fait vénéneux de l’hura crépitant". ''Annales de chimie et de physique'', 28: 430-435 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de /1825/ "Mémoire sur l'urao (carbonate de soude)". ''Annales de chimie et de physique'', Paris, 29: 110-111 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de /1827/ ''Memoria sobre las aguas minerales de Yura y de otras partes cercanas a Arequipa, con aplicaciones médicas por los ss Vargas, J.M. y Adriazola Arve, J.M'', Lima *Rivero y Ustariz, Mariano Eduardo de and Fernández de Piérola, Nicolás / 1827-1829/ ''Memorial de Ciencias Naturales y de Industria Nacional y Extranjera''. Imprenta de Instrucción Primaria, Lima (12 Journals published between 1827 and 1829) *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de /1836/ "Notice géologique sur Santiago de Chile". ''Annales des mines'', Paris, 10: 279-288 *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de / 1841/ ''Antigüedades Peruanas'', Lima, Imp. de José Masias. *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de / 1848/ ''Memoria sobre el rico mineral de azogue de Huancavelica'', Lima, Imp. de José Masias *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de and Tschudi, Johann Jakob von / 1851/ ''Antigüedades Peruanas'', Viena, Imprenta Imperial de la Corte y Estado *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de / 1853/ ''Peruvian Antiquities … translated into English from the original by F. L. Hawks, etc.'', New York *Rivero y Ustariz, M. de / 1857/ ''Colección de memorias científicas, agrícolas e industriales publicadas en distintas épocas, etc.'', Brussels, Printer. H. Goemaere, 2 volume


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz, Pioneer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivero Y Ustariz, Mariano Eduardo De 1798 births 1857 deaths Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian archaeologists Peruvian diplomats Peruvian scientists Peruvian chemists Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Peru Mines Paris - PSL alumni