Francisco Jose de Caldas (also known as "El Sabio Caldas" "Savvy Caldas") (Born 1771 in Popayan, Colombia - Died 1816) was a Colombian Naturalist and Geographer.
Biography
Early life
Caldas began his studies in the city of Popayan in the Seminary of Popayan. He later studied in the Colegio del Rosario graduating in Law but was also passionate with mathematics, astronomy and natural sciences.
Expeditionary
Caldas was part of numerous scientific expeditions including the ones with Jose Celestino Mutis and Alexander von Humboldt. He travelled across the New Kingdom of Granada exploring the newfound land, studying flora, fauna, geography, meteorology and cartography. In 1805 Caldas was appointed by Mutis to direct the Astronomic Observatory.
Death
Caldas was captured by the Spanish royalists in 1816 and executed in the San Francisco Plaza by orders of Count Pablo Morillo. When Caldas was about to be executed and the people present at the place appealed for the life of the scientist, Morillo responded: "Spain does not need wise people" (Spanish: "Espana no necesita sabios").Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas, Francisco Jose de Caldas (1771 - 1816), retrieved on May 1, 2007 Before dying Caldas wrote on the wall a large Greek letter θ, which has been interpreted as exclaiming "Oh long and dark departure!" (Spanish: Oh negra y larga partida!).
His body was interred in Veracruz Church, which was later turned into the Panteon Nacional (National Pantheon) but later moved to the Panteon de los Proceres in his hometown, Popayan.
Legacy
Caldas help fund the New Kingdom of Granada Seminary intended to be a scientific intitution during the first decade of the 1800s. In 1810 founded the Diario Politico de Santa Fe Political Diary of Santa Fe which ultimately defended the independentist movement. During this time Caldas became engineer's colonel designing an artillery aparatus for the revolutionaries.
Books
- "El estado de la geografia del virreinato con relacion a la economia y al comercio" (1807)
- "El influjo del clima sobre los seres organizados" (1808)
- "La Memoria sobre la Nivelacion de las Plantas del Ecuador, Historia de Nuestra Revolucion, Educacion de Menores, Importancia del Cultivo de la Cochinilla y Chinchografia y Geografia de los Arboles de Quina".
References
External links
Other pages about Colombian scientists
-Francisco Jose de Caldas -Jose Fernandez Madrid -Jose Manuel Restrepo -Rodolfo Llinas
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Francisco_Jose_de_Caldas
