José Celestino Mutis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jose Celestino Mutis
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| Born | 6 April 1732 |
| Died | 11 September 1808 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Alma mater | University of Seville |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botanist, Mathematician, Priest, Artist |
José Celestino Bruno Mutis y Bosio (born April 6, 1732 – died September 11, 1808) was a Spanish priest, botanist, and mathematician. He was a very important person during the Spanish American Enlightenment, a time of great new ideas. Even the famous explorer Alexander von Humboldt met with him during his trip to Spanish America. Mutis is known as one of the most important thinkers of the 18th century in Spain.
Contents
Life and Early Studies
José Celestino Mutis was born in Cádiz, Spain. He started studying medicine at the College of Surgery in Cádiz. There, he also learned about physics, chemistry, and botany. He finished his medical degree at the University of Seville in 1755.
After getting his doctorate in medicine in 1757, he worked as a professor of anatomy in Madrid. During these years, he also continued to study botany at the Migas Calientes Botanical Gardens, which is now the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid. He also studied astronomy and advanced mathematics.
Moving to America
In 1760, Mutis decided to move to America. He became the personal doctor for the new viceroy of New Granada, Pedro Messía de la Cerda. He sailed on September 7, 1760, and arrived in Santa Fe de Bogotá on February 24, 1761. During his long journey across the ocean, he started writing his Diario de Observaciones (Diary of Observations), which he continued until 1791.
Once he arrived in the Viceroyalty, Mutis focused on studying plants. He began creating a collection of dried plants, known as an herbal. He also looked for cinchona, a plant believed to cure many diseases. He even wrote a book about it called El Arcano de la Quina.
The Royal Botanical Expedition
Starting in 1763, Mutis asked the king of Spain to support an expedition to study the plants and animals of the region. He had to wait 20 years for the king's approval! Finally, in 1783, the king said yes. This was one of three big royal plant expeditions to the New World around that time. While he waited, Mutis worked on business and mining projects, and continued his medical work. He also studied how people lived and worked in the viceroyalty. On December 19, 1772, he became a priest. He often wrote letters to scientists in Spain and other parts of Europe, especially to Carl Linnaeus, a famous botanist.
Exploring New Granada
Mutis led the Royal Botanical Expedition for 25 years, starting in 1783. His team explored about 8,000 square kilometers (about 3,000 square miles) across many different climates. They used the Río Magdalena to travel deep into the country. Mutis created a very careful way of working: they collected plant samples in the field, wrote detailed descriptions, and noted where each plant grew and how it was used.
Hundreds of new plants were found and described. More than 8,000 drawings, along with maps, letters, notes, and writings, were sent to Spain. Mutis's own collection included 24,000 dried plants, 5,000 plant drawings made by his students, and collections of wood, shells, minerals, and animal skins. All these valuable items arrived safely in Madrid in 105 boxes. Sadly, the plants, writings, and drawings were stored in a tool-house at the botanical gardens and not properly studied for a long time.
The expedition's main office moved a few times. It started in La Mesa, then moved to Mariquita in November 1783, and finally to Santa Fe de Bogota in 1791.
Much of the expedition's hard work was not fully used because the results were never properly published or analyzed. Also, the notes and drawings got mixed up during the move to Spain. However, Mutis's work on different types of Chinchona plants was very important and had a lasting impact.
Science and New Ideas
Mutis also figured out the exact location of Bogotá by watching an eclipse of one of Jupiter's moons. He was a major influence in building the National Astronomical Observatory.
In March 1762, when a new mathematics class started at the Colegio del Rosario, Mutis taught about the Copernican system. This system says that the Earth goes around the Sun, not the other way around. He also taught about the experimental method of science. These ideas were new and caused a disagreement with the Church. In 1774, he had to defend teaching the ideas of Nicolaus Copernicus, as well as modern physics and mathematics, to the Inquisition, a powerful Church court.
In 1784, he was chosen as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Alexander von Humboldt, a famous explorer, visited Mutis in 1801 during his own trip to America. Humboldt stayed with Mutis for two months and was very impressed by his plant collection.
Mutis passed away in Bogotá on September 2, 1808, at the age of 76, from a stroke. Because much of his plant work was lost or not published, he is remembered not just as a great scientist, but also as someone who strongly supported science and learning.
Mutis's Contributions to Science
Botany
Mutis carefully studied the plants around him. He created an amazing collection of drawings of Colombian plants. These drawings are now kept at the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid.
Linguistics
He also studied the native languages of the area. King Charles III asked him to create simple lists of words (about 100 words each) for different languages. The king was responding to a request from Czarina Catherine the Great of Russia, who wanted to make a huge dictionary of all the languages in the world. The dictionary was published, but it was organized alphabetically, which made it very hard to use.
Other Sciences
Mutis also made important contributions to other areas, like improving how silver was mined and how rum was made.
Legacy and Recognition
Mutis's face is well known in Spain because his picture was on the 2,000 Pesetas banknotes from 1992 to 2002. This was the first banknote in a series that honored Spain's history in America. On the back of the banknote was a drawing of the Mutisia clematis flower, which was named after him. He was also on the 200 Pesos banknote in Colombia between 1983 and 1992.
The José Celestino Mutis Botanical Gardens in Bogotá, a large park and science center, is named in his honor. It has special exhibits of plants from all the different climate zones in Colombia. There is also a display of 5,000 Colombian orchids, which is one of the largest collections in the country.
The official name of the town of Bahía Solano on Colombia's Pacific coast is Puerto Mutis, also named after him. The airport there is called Aeropuerto José Celestino Mutis.
In 1783, Mutis hired Vicente Albán to create paintings of the plants found in Ecuador. His collection of plant samples, which is now in Paris at the National Museum of Natural History, France, was organized by Alicia Lourteig.
Other Royal Expeditions
King Charles III of Spain approved four major expeditions to the Spanish colonies to study their natural resources:
- Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavón went to Peru and Chile (1777–88).
- Mutis went to New Granada (1783–1808).
- Juan de Cuéllar went to the Philippines (1786–97).
- Martín Sessé y Lacasta went to New Spain (1787–1803).
Images for kids
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Illustrations from Mutis's work
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José Celestino Mutis on a 1996 2000 Pesetas specimen banknote
See also
In Spanish: José Celestino Mutis para niños
- Spanish Universalist School of the 18th century
- List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics
- Spanish American Enlightenment
