Celestino Fernández-Villar (April 2, 1838 – April 29, 1907) was an Augustinian friar and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

born in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, Spain.

Life

Fernández-Villar was born in

, Spain on April 2, 1838. He studied as a seminarian in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

. In 1855 he began his monastic training as an Augustinian novitiate in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. From 1859 to 1877 he served the convent associated with the

Basilica del Santo Niño The , alternatively known as the Minor Basilica of the Holy Child or simply Santo Niño Basilica, is a minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines that was founded in 1565 by Fray Andrés de Urdaneta and Fray Diego de Herrera. It is the olde ...

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

, Philippines. In 1877 he moved to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

to lead the work on the third edition

Francisco Manuel Blanco Manuel María Blanco Ramos known as Manuel Blanco (1779 – 1845) was a Spanish friar and botanist. Biography Born in Navianos de Alba, Castilla y León, Spain, Blanco was a member of the Augustinian order of friars. His first assignment was ...

's ''Flora de Filipinas'' until 1883 . He was a parish priest in Miagao until 1885. He then travelled on church business to Rome, China, and Australia. From 1893 to 1897 he served as a pastor in the Philippine municipality

Alimodian Alimodian, officially the Municipality of Alimodian (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,722 people. Nicknamed as the ''Banana Capital of Iloilo, According to ...

. After being taken prisoner during the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

he was shot 3 times on October 31, 1898 but survived and was able to seek safety in

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

. He then retired to Manila, where he died on April 29, 1907.

Awards

In recognition of his botanical scholarship he was appointed as a corresponding academic of the

Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences (Spanish: ''Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales'') is an academic institution and learned society that was founded in Madrid in 1847. It is dedicated to the study and research of mathematic ...

(

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales'').

Legacy

He is the authority for at least 175

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

including:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez-Villar, Celestino 1838 births 1907 deaths 19th-century Spanish botanists 19th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests Augustinian friars Spanish people in the colonial Philippines