Julio Cervera Baviera facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Julio Cervera Baviera
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Julio Cervera Baviera in 1886
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| Born | 26 January 1854 |
| Died | 24 June 1927 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Inventor, military commander, and engineer |
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Julio Cervera Baviera (born January 26, 1854 – died June 24, 1927) was a Spanish engineer, teacher, explorer, and military leader. He was one of the first people to help develop radio technology. He also wrote many scientific and geography books and articles.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Julio Cervera was born in Segorbe, Spain. He first studied Physical and Natural Sciences at the University of Valencia. However, he decided to join the Army instead of finishing those studies.
He graduated from the Cavalry academy in 1875. Later, in 1882, he graduated from the Academy of Military Engineers in Guadalajara.
Exploring and Working in Africa
Julio Cervera traveled to Morocco in 1877. He later published a book about the military geography of Morocco in 1884. The Army then asked him to explore the area again. He wrote another book about this expedition in 1885.
In 1886, Cervera worked in the photoengraving business in Barcelona. Later that year, he led an important scientific trip to Rio de Oro. This area was part of what was then Spanish Sahara. He was joined by an Arabic interpreter, Felipe Rizzo, and a biologist, Francisco Quiroga Rodríguez.
They mapped the land and made observations in a region that was not well known at the time. They traveled about 900 kilometers, from Cape Blanc to Cape Bojador, reaching Adrar. This trip is seen as the first scientific expedition in that part of the Sahara desert. They also signed agreements with local leaders.
In 1884, Cervera oversaw the building of small forts called blockhouses around Melilla. From 1888 to 1890, he worked as a military helper at the Spanish Embassy in Tangiers.
Military Career and Challenges
Cervera's work in Spanish Africa helped him get promoted to commander. However, in 1890, he wrote an article criticizing the Spanish government in Morocco. This led to his arrest and imprisonment in the Santa Bárbara castle in Alicante in 1891. He was released two years later.
After 1894, he worked as an aide-de-camp (a personal assistant) to General Manuel Macías y Casado. He served with the General in various roles, including in Melilla, the Canary Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Role in the Spanish–American War
During the Spanish–American War, Julio Cervera was in charge of defending Guamaní in Puerto Rico. This was an important peak that controlled the road between Cayey and Guayama. He successfully defended against an attack by American troops during the Battle of Guamaní on August 9, 1898.
After the war, he wrote a booklet called La defensa de Puerto Rico (The Defense of Puerto Rico). In it, he supported General Macías. However, the booklet also criticized the Puerto Rican volunteers who fought for Spain. This caused some anger among young people in San Juan. They wanted to challenge Cervera to a duel, but it never happened. Cervera explained his intentions, and everyone was satisfied.
Pioneering Radio Technology
In 1899, the Spanish Army sent Cervera to visit Guglielmo Marconi's radio stations in England. His goal was to study Marconi's system and see if it could be used by the Spanish Military. Cervera then started working with Marconi to solve problems with long-distance wireless communication. He even got some patents for his inventions by the end of 1899.
On March 22, 1902, Cervera started his own company, the Spanish Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. He brought his patents from Spain, Belgium, Germany, and England to this company.
In 1901 and 1902, he set up the second and third regular radio telegraph services in the world. He kept up regular transmissions between Tarifa and Ceuta for three months. He also did the same between Xàbia and Ibiza. This was just after Marconi had set up his service in England in 1898.
Cervera had some success in this field, but his radio work suddenly stopped. The reasons for this are still not clear today.
Other Important Activities
Julio Cervera also worked as a technical instructor. In 1900, he was appointed royal commissary at the Escuela Superior de Artes e Industrias de Madrid. After eight months, he became frustrated because he couldn't change the school's curriculum.
In 1903, he traveled to Europe and the United States. There, he became very interested in teaching through correspondence (distance learning). He left his military career and started the Internacional Institución Electrotécnica in Valencia in 1903. This was one of the first distance education programs in the world. It offered degrees in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanic-electrician.
He published his Enciclopedia científico-practica del ingeniero mecánico electricista (Scientific-Practical Encyclopedia of the Mechanical Electrical Engineer) in two editions (1904, 1915). His institution also published a magazine called Electricidad y Mecánica. Later, the institution changed its name to Institución de Enseñaza Técnica. It offered new degrees, including agricultural engineering, and even a long-distance language learning program using a phonograph.
Cervera also designed the original Tenerife Tram system. He helped build a tramway system in his hometown of Segorbe as well.
Personal Life and Political Views
Julio Cervera was a liberal republican. He was also a Freemason and started a masonic lodge in Segorbe. In 1890, he helped create an order of Masons in Morocco. This group included 12 lodges and 200 Masons from different backgrounds.
Cervera was friends with the republican politician Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla. His political beliefs sometimes caused problems with his military superiors. In 1891, he ran for Cortes (the Spanish parliament) for Segorbe, but a military coup stopped him. He tried again in 1893, but election rigging prevented him from becoming a deputy. In 1908, he won a seat in elections for Valencia, but he did not win again in 1914.
He married María de los Desamparados Giménez in 1883. They had two daughters, Amparo and Pilar, and a son who died as a child. Julio Cervera spent his last years in Madrid with his daughter Amparo, where he passed away in 1927.
Images for kids
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Julio Cervera's signature
See also
In Spanish: Julio Cervera Baviera para niños
