José Mariano Beristain facts for kids
José Mariano Beristáin y Martín de Souza was an important Mexican writer and expert on books. He lived from 1756 to 1817. He created a very important list of books about Mexico and Central America. This list helps us learn a lot about the books from that time and place.
Life of José Mariano Beristáin
José Mariano Beristáin was born in Puebla, Mexico. Later, he traveled to Spain. There, he spent some time with the family of a former bishop from Puebla, who was then an archbishop in Toledo.
He returned to Mexico in 1811. In 1813, he became an archdeacon at the main church in Mexico City, the Metropolitan church of Mexico. An archdeacon is a senior church official. After that, he became the dean of the church. The dean is the head of the church's clergy.
Beristáin was a priest who studied a lot in Mexico. He continued his studies in Spain. He wrote many papers, including some about money and business. Most of these papers were never published. Sadly, many of his original writings were lost while being sent to Europe. He passed away in Mexico.
His Most Famous Work
His most important work is called Biblioteca hispano-americana septentrional. This big book was finished and published after he died. It is a huge list of books and writings from Mexico and Central America.
Beristáin used an older book called Biblioteca mexicana by Bishop Juan José de Eguiara y Eguren as a starting point. Only the first part of Eguiara's book was ever printed. Beristáin first wanted to just finish Eguiara's book. But as he worked, he decided to create his own new and independent list of books. He included all the information Eguiara had collected.
Even though Beristáin's Biblioteca has some small mistakes in names and dates, it is still seen as an amazing achievement. He wrote it at a time when it was hard to get information. Many sources were far away or difficult to find. Because of this, many people consider his work to be a very important and impressive book.
See also
In Spanish: José Mariano Beristáin y Souza para niños
