Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz
Encyclopedia
Oxalate
Oxalate , is the dianion with formula C2O42− also written 22−. Either name is often used for derivatives, such as disodium oxalate, 2C2O42−, or an ester of oxalic acid Oxalate (IUPAC: ethanedioate), is the dianion with formula C2O42− also written (COO)22−. Either...
), demonstrating the existence of organic-minerals, about deposits of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and sodium nitrate
Sodium nitrate
Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula NaNO3. This salt, also known as Chile saltpeter or Peru saltpeter to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate, is a white solid which is very soluble in water...
(saltpeter) near Tarapacá
Tarapacá Region
The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá...
in the Atacama desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
(today Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
), about bird-guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
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. He published many scientific articles and books about that.
Early years
Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz was born in ArequipaArequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. His parents were Antonio Salvador de Rivero y Araníbar, captain in the Spanish Royal Army in the viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
, and Maria Brígida de Ustariz y Zúñiga. Mariano Eduardo married February 18, 1840 Agueda Escolástica Pacheco de Salas y Salazar. They had four children, but only their daughters Candelaria and Francisca Guillermina survived childhood.
Mariano Eduardo began his education in the Seminary of San Jerónimo, Arequipa
Arequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
. As a brilliant student his parents decided in 1810 to send him in the age of twelve for a scientific study to Europe. In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
visited Mariano Eduardo the independent school in Highgate (Highgate School
Highgate School
-Notable members of staff and governing body:* John Ireton, brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwellian General* 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice, owner of Kenwood, noted for judgment finding contracts for slavery unenforceable in English law* T. S...
), directed by Dr. Dowling. He focused his studies there on mathematics, physics and languages (Latin, French and German). He continued his studies 1817 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the Royal Mining School (École royale des mines de Paris, today École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris
École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris
The École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris was created in 1783 by King Louis XVI in order to train intelligent directors of mines. It is one of the most prominent French engineering schoolsThe École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris (also known as Mines ParisTech, École des Mines de...
) where he studied mineralogy and chemistry. During that time he met as well some famous scientists, like Joseph Louis Proust, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
- External links :* from the American Chemical Society* from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th Edition * , Paris...
and Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
. When he finished his studies at the Royal Mining School, he decided in 1821 to visit some mines in the mining areas of England, France, Germany and Spain, where he learned about the usual mining techniques.
Scientific career
He discovered a new mineral originated in BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
(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 Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
, decided to contract European scientifics 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 A. Zea, 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
La Guaira is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Vargas and the country's chief port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during the December 1999 floods and mudslides that affected much of the region...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. He 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. He left Venezuela and arrived in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, in May 1823. 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.
Simon Bolivar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
(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
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
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).
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
Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente was a Peruvian politician who also served in the Peruvian military. He was briefly President of Peru from June to September 1829....
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
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, where he made studies about meteorology, mineralogy and geology.
Political career
He returned to PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
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
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
). General Felipe Santiago Salaverry
Felipe Santiago Salaverry
Felipe Santiago de Salaverry was a Peruvian soldier, politician and, from 1835 to 1836, President of Peru.He studied in the College of San Carlos in Lima...
, president of Peru (1835–1836), appointed him in 1835 to become his counselor.
Under the presidency of general Agustin Gamarra
Agustín Gamarra
Agustín Gamarra Messia was a Peruvian soldier and politician, becoming twice President of Peru from 1829 to 1833 and from 1838 to 1841....
(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 Ramon Castilla
Ramón Castilla
Ramón Castilla y Marquesado was a Peruvian caudillo and President of Peru four times. His earliest prominent appearance in Peruvian history began with his participation in a commanding role of the army of the Libertadores that helped Peru become an independent nation...
(1844–1851 and 1855–1862) Mariano Eduardo was appointed in 1845 to become governor of the department of Junin
Junín Region
Junín is a region in the central highlands and westernmost Amazonia of Peru. Its capital is Huancayo.-Geography:The region has a very heterogeneous topography. The western cordillera located near the border with the Lima Region, has snowy and ice covered peaks. On the east, there are high glacier...
(central Peru) and in 1848 governor of the department of Moquegua
Moquegua
Moquegua is a city in southern Peru, located in the Moquegua Region, of which it is the regional capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Province and Moquegua District. It is located 1144 kilometers south from the capital city of Lima.-History:...
(south Peru). As governor of Junin he founded the city of San Ramon
San Ramón, Junín
San Ramón is the second largest town in the Chanchamayo Province of the Junín Region, on the eastern slopes of the Andean Cordillera Oriental in Peru.San Ramón is situated on at an elevation of 770 m above sea level....
and a central mining school in Huanuco
Huánuco
-Famous Natives:* Daniel Alomía Robles - Musical composer and ethnologist born in 1871, famous for El Cóndor Pasa* Johan Fano- Professional football player-External links:*** - Catholic Encyclopedia article...
as well.
Diplomatic career
The president of Peru, marshal Ramon CastillaRamón Castilla
Ramón Castilla y Marquesado was a Peruvian caudillo and President of Peru four times. His earliest prominent appearance in Peruvian history began with his participation in a commanding role of the army of the Libertadores that helped Peru become an independent nation...
, appointed him in 1851 as General Consul in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He was awarded by the king of Belgium with the Leopold Order and by the king of Denmark with the Dannebrog Order
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
in appreciation his diplomatic performance.
He published in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
1851 with Johann Jakob von Tschudi, acting as co-author, their common publication Antigüedades Peruanas about the Inca’s Empire. That book was a profound work about the Inca’s Empire, its history, origin, government system, scientific knowledge, language, religion, customs and monuments.
He published in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
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 PhysiqueAnnales de chimie et de physiqueAnnales de chimie et de physique is a scientific journal that was founded in Paris, France, in 1789 under the title Annales de chimie. One of the early editors was the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. In 1815, it became the Annales de chimie et de physique, and was published under that name for...
, 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