Joaquín Acosta
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Tomás Joaquín de Acosta y Pérez de Guzmán (December 29, 1800February 21, 1852) was a Colombian explorer, historian, chorographer, and
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
. A native of
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
in South America, he served in the Colombian army and in 1834 attempted a scientific survey of the territory between Socorro and the
Magdalena River The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...
. Seven years later he explored western Colombia from
Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch. Antioquia may also refer to: * Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders th ...
to Anserma studying its topography, its natural history and the traces of its aboriginal inhabitants. In 1845 he went to Spain to examine such documentary material concerning Colombia and its colonial history as was then accessible, and three years later he published his ''Compendio'', a work on the discovery and colonization of
New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia: *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1822 *United Provinces of ...
(Colombia). The map accompanying this work, now out of date, was very fair for the time, and the work itself is still valuable for its abundant bibliographic references and biographic notes. What he says in it of the writings of
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...
the conqueror of New Granada, is very incomplete and in many ways erroneous, but his biographies remain a guide to the student of Spanish-American history. One year after the ''Compendio'', another work called ''Semenario'' appeared at
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, embodying the botanical papers of
Francisco José de Caldas Francisco José de Caldas (October 4, 1768 – October 28, 1816) was a Neogranadine lawyer, military engineer, self-taught naturalist, mathematician, geographer and inventor (he created the first hypsometer), who was executed by orders of Gene ...
.


Personal life

He was the son of Josef Acosta and Soledad Pérez de Guzman and married Caroline Kemble Rowe. His daughter Soledad Acosta de Samper, born May 5, 1833, became a historian and writer and married José María Samper, Colombian lawyer, writer and politician."Tomas Joaquín Acosta Pérez"
Geni.


Selected works

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References


External links


Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887–1889
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta Perez, Joaquin 1800 births 1852 deaths People from Guaduas Colombian explorers Colombian geologists 19th-century Colombian historians Colombian military personnel Scholars of the Muisca civilization People from the Republic of New Granada