Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta

Ignacy Domeyko or Domejko, pseudonym: Żegota (Spanish: Ignacio Domeyko) was a Polish-Lithuanian-Belarussian geologist, mineralogist, educator and visionary.

Domeyko spent most of his life, and died, in his adopted country, Chile.

Ignacy Domeyko Ancuta (July 31, 1802 – January 23, 1889) was a 19th-century Polish-Lithuanian-Belarrusian geologist, mineralogist, educator and visionary.

Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta was born in Niedźwiadka Wileyka in the Sitiek also called Silce in the district of Wileyka, located in present day Belarus, then part of the Lithuanian Polish Commonwealth) into a noble Polish-Lithuanian family or szlachta.

The land on which the Domeyko home of NIedzwiaka Wielka was given to them in reward for their services to the Polish crown.

The first recorded Domeyko warrior, from whom present day Domeykos descend is Kontrym, a clan warrior born in 1387. Many subsequent Domeykos were also famous warriors, through the XIV to XVI centuries, battling against the Turks, Tartars and Russians, first under the Jagellonian monarchy (XIV to XVI centuries), then under King Jan Sobeski (1674-1696) who saved Christianity at the gates of Vilna. Later the Domeykos fought for their country under the leadership of General Kosciusko.

Ignacio´s baptism is registered in Parafianovo in 1802, the year of his birth. His father, Hipolito Domeyko, baptized in 1764, was a Justice of the Peace for the District of Novograden. His lineage was of the noble house of Dangel, and bore its code of arms, given to the Domeyko family by King Ladislao in 1498. Ignacio´s mother, Karolina of Ancuta was born in the family manor of Uciecha in the area of Minsk, present day Belarus

Ignacio´s grandfather, Kazimierz, was baptized in 1725. Kazmierz Domeyko was the Treasurer General of Lithuania and the Royal Comissar for the District of Pinskie (1767). HIs grandmother was Bogumila Odachowski. Ignacio´s great grandfather was Jerzy Domeyko who held the post of General of the Royal Guard of Lithuania (1730). His grandmother was Katarina Kniazyzka. His great great grandfather was Krzysztof Domeyko, son of Szimon Domeyko (baptized in 1620, and died in 1682.

Ignacio´s uncle, his father´s brother was Tadeus Domeyko, Knight and Royal Swordholder of Mscislaw, and in 1788 a Royal Chamberlain to the king (1801), and a Judge for the district of Wileyka. Ignacio´s cousin Stefan Aleksander Domeyko (son of Tadeus) was a Royal Standard Bearer in 1829, and a Royal Marichal for the District of Wileyka in 1832. He was also the Royal Chamberlain, and Secret Counselor for the Court, and in 1861 was the Marichal for the government of Wilno.

Mateo Domeyko Odachoswki, Ignacio´s uncle, was the owner of Gierwartz in Wilno and was the Royal Chamberlain of the Court, and Secretary in charge of the Royal Seal for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Ignacio´s brothers were Adam (the oldest), the owner of greater and lesser Niedzwiadka, and was the Counselor of the Territorial Tribunal. His lands were left to Josefina Slizniowna. His younger brother Kazimierz Domeyko was a Liutenant of the Royal Guard of Lithuania. Kazimierz´s wife was Idalia Markiewick. His chilren were Celina (a nun), María who married Count Gustaw Slizn, and Helena who married Napoleon Vincent Odachowski. The daughter of Helena and Napolein was Sofia Odachoswki, wife of Count Olgert of Markowo markoski, one of the oldest and most noble families of Poland.

Ignacio´s cousin Hipolito Domeyko Markiewich married Margarita Slizn, granddaughter of the Counts of Tyszkiewicz, and her brother, Leon Domeyko married his cousin Anna Domeyko, Ignacio´s daughter.

The Domeyko Kontrym titles of the highest nobility are registered in the Book of Nobility of the Chancery of Minsk, under the number 396, and certified by Prince Radziewill, Marechal of Nobility.

Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta married Enriqueta Sotomayor Guzman at the San Saturnino Parish in Santiago, Chile, on July 5, 1850. The couple was married by Rev. Rafael Valentin Valdivieso, Archibishop of Santiago. Their wedding godparents were Jose Santiago Portales Larraín and Mercedes Contador Aguirre de Martinez Jaraquemada .

Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta spent his childhood and early youth in Belarus and Lithuania, where his family had extensive family estates. He completed his high school studies in Belarus, where he was a brilliant student, and entered Vilna University in LIthuania when only 14 years of age. A plaque to Ignacio Domeyko at the University of Vilna corroborates the dates of his studies.

While at the university, Domeyko formed part of the Philarets, a movement of young men who wished to end the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance and dominance by Czarist Russia. Together with other Filarets and other patriots, Domeyko participated in the 1830-1831 Polish-Lithuianian uprising against Russia. Upon its suppression, he was put under house arrest for seven years, during which time he furthered his studies. Domeyko was more fortunate than many of his fellow revolutionaries. Because he belonged to the nobility his sentence was carried out at his estate, while many others were sent to carry out their sentences in Siberia.

After escaping from this long imprisonment, Domeyko fled to Dresden, and then to Paris, where he shared his exile with other insurgents including his best friend, the Lithuanian-Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. During this time, Ignacio Domeyko edited Mickiewicz's epic poem, Pan Tadeusz.

From Paris to Chile

In Paris he furthered his studies in geology and mineralogy at the Sorbonne and other institutions of learning. In 1835, he was hired by the Chilean government to travel to Chile to teach chemistry and minerology in Coquimbo, a city north of Santiago. The government wished Chilean students, many sons of mining magnates, to learn the latest technological advances in the science of mining.

Upon arriving in Coquimbo and taking up his post, Domeyko revolutionized the professional study of mining. He combined his lectures in chemistry and physics, as well as mineraology with laboratory science, and took his students on long treks to study the mining terrain in the area, already known for its rich mineral deposits. Up until that time, this educational approach was unusual not only in Chile, but in the rest of the world.

Today, Ignacio Domeyko is considered the Father of Chilean Mining. This honorific title is based not only on his teaching methods, but on his subsequent great contributions to the science of mining in Chile. He was the first to discover important mining areas, and he reformed the way mining terrains were explored and exploited, and he proposed new laws aimed at stimulating the mining industry in the country.

Upon completing his assigned period of teaching in Coquimbo, in 1841 traveled to Santiago, the capital of Chile. Along the way, he explored the terrain and discovered what subsequently became the mine of El Teniente, today a great source of exported copper and other minerals.

From 1842 to 1843 he returned to the area of Atacama, near Coquimbo to examine the geological areas located in the valleys of Elqui, Copiapo, Ovalle, Combarbala, Illapel and Petorca. He has instrumental in confirming the mineral wealth of the present day mine of San Pedro Nolasco.

Rector of the University of Chile

Domeyko was making plans to return to Poland in 1847 when the Chilean government offered him a new position Professor of Chemistry and Minerology at the Instituto Nacional, at the time the most prestigious school of higher education in Chile. Upon being named a member of the directing committee at the school, in 1852 began a complete reform of the school's structure and teaching methods, and added important new subjects, including Physics. He and a small group of other educators founded the University of Chile.

In 1866 Domeyko was named the Rector of the University of Chile, the second in its history, after Andres Bello. As he has done earlier at the Instituto Nacional, Domeyko reformed the newly created university and created many of its Departments. He transformed the Department of Science and Mathematics so that it could be a teaching source for mining and other engineers. Chile's first geographers, and civil and mining engineers emerged from the university a short time later. It had a huge impact on the development of the Chilean mining industry. His organizational genius was not limited to the sciences. He also created the Departments of Architecture, Philosophy and Fine Arts, among others in the sciences and humanities.

Domeyko was to spend the next 20 years as Rector of the University of Chile, being reelected four times to the post. It was during this time that the government of Chile named him an honorary citizen for his accomplishments.

While attending to his obligations as the Rector of the University of Chile Domeyko spent much of his free time exploring Chile´s landscape, and studying the country´s mountain ranges, deserts, minerals and mineral waters. He published his scientific observations in the most prestigious international journals of Europe.

He is considered Chile's first paleanthologist for his observations of ancient fossils and minerals.

He is also considered its first anthropologist, after publishing a best-selling book, called La Araucania y Sus Habitantes (Araucania and its Inhabitants), in which he describes his travels to Southern Chile, and his encounters with the Mapuche Indigenous group. He was instrumental in drawing up a peace treaty between the Mapuche people and the Chilean government.

His observations of the circumstances of poverty-stricken miners and of wealthy mine owners who cared little for the plight of those who worked for them, had a profound influence on those who would go on to shape Chile's labor movement.

Much of what we know about Domeyko's work as well as his personal life comes from this writing. He was not only a keen observer of landscapes, but also of the customs and the people of his new home. He made precise yet colorful descriptions, and even drew sketches of everything he saw,. He was also a keen observer of the beauty of nature and made observations about the ecology of the land.

His observations of the newly formed republic of Chile and its customs, written in his memoirs (My Travels) are one of the best descriptions of that historical time period ever published. Domeyko kept close ties with several European countries through papers published in the major scientific journals of the time.

His marriage

In 1850, shortly after arriving in Santiago, Ignacio met the love of his life.

He had recently bought al manor in the neighborhood of Yungay, in Santiago. A friend took him to visit one of his neighbors, the aristocratic Sotomayor Guzman family. There he met Enriqueta, the oldest daughter. They married within months. They had four children. Anita Domeyko Sotomayor was the eldest child. She was followed by Sebastian, who died in infancy; Hernan Domeyko Sotormayor, who became a priest; and Casimiro Domeyko Sotomayor.

Casimiro Domeyko Sotomayor, who followed in his father's footsteps and became a mining engineer, was to marry Dominga Alamos de la Cuadra, a Chilean aristocrat whose lineage on her mother's family, the de la Cerda's directly descends from Spanish royalty.

In Chile and the World

In 2002, when UNESCO organized a series of commemorations of the 200th anniversary of his birth, Ignacio Domeyko was referred to as "A Citizen of the World".

Ignacio Domeyko has hundreds of descendants in Chile, his adopted country. There are towns, mountain ranges, streets, schools and universities that bear his name.

In the 1990's one of his direct descendants, Paz Domeyko Lea Plaza published a book about her great grandfather; "Ignacio Domeyko, the Life of an Immigrant", a biography based on his memoirs, letters and other documents she researched in Chile as well as in Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. The book written in English has been translated to English, Belarrusian and Russian.

Ignacio Domeyko is considered not just a knowledgeable and educated man, but a true "Sage", a visionary whose observations and writings were far ahead of his time. In Chile he is known as "El Sabio Domeyko".

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Ігна́т Іпалі́тавіч Даме́йка (польск.: Ignacy Domeyko, ісп.: Ignacio Domeyko) — член таварыства філаматаў, удзельнік Лістападаўскага паўстання 1830—1831 гадоў, навуковец, рэфарматар, геолаг, мінеролаг, мемуарыст. Правёў большую частку жыцця і памёр у Чылі, але таксама займае важнае месца ў навуцы і культуры Беларусі, Літвы і Польшчы. Wikipedia BY

Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta (en polaco: Ignacy Domeyko) fue un científico polaco-chileno (su placa se puede encontrar en la Calle Didzioji gatvè). Chile le concedió la nacionalidad por gracia en 1848. Wikipedia ES

http://diario.elmercurio.com/detalle/index.asp?id={58759b03-305d-491a-a786-543fee536b3b}

El tesoro de los Domeyko

Impecable está la casa en la que vivió por casi cincuenta años Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta; en ella trabajó y gestó parte de sus investigaciones el multifacético polaco que llegó con la misión de desarrollar la minería chilena. la construcción de calle Cueto, en el barrio Yungay, es un valioso vestigio arquitectónico del siglo XIX, que sigue siendo utilizada por sus descendientes. Texto, Jimena Silva Cubillos. Fotografías, Viviana Morales R.

En Cueto 572 todo permanece. Los recintos de la que fuera la casa de Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta mantienen su comunicación interior, a la manera de un tren, y dan a holgados corredores. Están ambientados con mobiliario de época, pinturas, grabados y fotos; a diario sus cuidadores montan el comedor porque en cualquier momento sus dueños vienen a almorzar solos o con amigos, aunque ya ninguno habita entre estas paredes de adobe y techo de tejas. La familia es de comida casera; porotos, mote, tallarines, bistecs y pescados, pero si el asunto es elegante, infaltables son los marrón glacé que Heriberto, el mozo, sirve a quienes visitan la propiedad. Él, que llegó a trabajar a los 14 años y tiene 70, prepara las castañas confitadas tal como lo hacían Hortensia Pérez Tupper y sus hermanas. Andrea, la cocinera con 20 años en el cargo, también aprendió esta y otras recetas.Hace 15, desde que murió la antigua patrona, los cuatro hermanos Domeyko Pérez se organizan para tenerla en perfectas condiciones. No viven aquí para que ninguno se apropie de ella. "La mantenemos en comunidad, evitando darle un uso desequilibrado. La aprovechamos en el día a día y en ocasiones especiales como celebraciones, cumpleaños o aniversarios de matrimonio", cuenta León, el mayor, a quien le siguen Fernando, Pablo y Jorge.Mineralogista, científico, explorador, geólogo, profesor, físico, químico y naturalista; todo eso fue su bisabuelo Ignacio Domeyko Ancuta, un inmigrante nacido en 1802 en un campo cerca de la ciudad lituana de Niedzwiadka (entonces parte de Polonia), que en 1838, a los 36 años, se avecindó en Chile para impulsar las ciencias naturales y técnicas geológicas. Recomendado por el minero Carlos Lambert, el gobierno lo contrató en París, a donde había llegado como refugiado debido a su participación en el levantamiento patriótico polaco contra Rusia en 1830.A mediados de los '40, tras recorrer el norte rastreando tesoros mineros, y años antes de convertirse en formador y rector de la Universidad de Chile, se estableció en el sector poniente de Santiago. En las afueras de la ciudad, según su propia descripción, encontró una casita medio campesina, con un jardín bastante grande con altos parrones y muchísimos naranjos, durazneros y damascos, que le pareció predestinada para él. Fue construida por un francés, en parte de la chacra de Diego Portales, cuyos terrenos dieron origen al primer loteo urbano comercial de Santiago. De a poco, lo que hoy se conoce como barrio Yungay, se pobló de casonas. En el mismo sector donde vivieron las familias más acomodadas de la época y artistas, políticos, académicos e intelectuales como Eusebio Lillo, José Domingo Faustino, Rubén Darío e incluso Violeta Parra mucho después, Domeyko Ancuta se enamoró de su vecina Enriqueta Sotomayor Guzmán. Se casaron cuando ella tenía 15 años y él 46; tuvieron 5 hijos, de los cuales solo Casimiro dejó descendientes. De ellos, uno, Casimiro Domeyko Álamos, compró a sus cinco hermanos los derechos de sucesión, y heredó la casa a los cuatro hijos que tuvo con Hortensia Pérez Tupper. León Domeyko Pérez recuerda: "Llegué a Cueto a los 3 años, cuando vivía mi abuela y un tío soltero. Los primeros recuerdos propios son de 1930; la caída de Ibáñez y la pobreza espantosa que se desató en Santiago; la crisis del salitre y las ollas comunes".Tal vez este inmueble que ha estado en manos de una misma familia durante seis generaciones y que hoy tiene casi 500 m2, distribuidos en dos alas y en un terreno de 1.534 m2, no era tan grande. -Creemos que cuando mi bisabuelo la compró tenía un pabellón, que él añadió una capilla por el lado norte -demolida en 1935- y que el abuelo Casimiro la amplió y remodeló a principios de siglo XX, siguiendo el modelo de arquitectura chilena. Con las reconstrucciones que hemos realizado, a raíz de los terremotos, descubrimos que era una casa más chata; así lo evidencian las vigas y después vino la moda de levantar los techos y hacer los corredores más anchos y altos -explica León Domeyko Pérez, quien es arquitecto. -Nuestra infancia fue especial; tan entretenida que no tuvimos vida de barrio, todo lo hacíamos puertas adentro con compañeros y amigos, nunca en la calle. Los recuerdos son de juegos en estos corredores, con bicicletas, autos a pedales o trenes eléctricos. En el jardín, que tenía un aspecto distinto, más afrancesado y lleno de caminitos, nos escondíamos detrás de los acantos, subíamos a la higuera, jugábamos a los soldados de plomo y correteábamos a los animales: gallinas, patos, gansos y un mono que trajo del Paraguay el tío Ignacio con dos polacos. Después de haberle roto todos los huevos y morderle una mano a mi abuela terminó en el zoológico -dice León Domeyko Pérez, mientras destaca que el olivo del fondo lo trajo su bisabuelo desde Israel. Según explica, para ellos no ha sido fácil conservar la propiedad. Aunque varios gobiernos e instituciones como la Universidad de Chile y el Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas, incluso la embajada polaca, han ofrecido ayuda para su mantención y hasta para comprarla, finalmente eso no se ha concretado. "Aquí han habido promesas y más promesas, nada concreto. Nunca hemos recibido un peso por parte del Estado o de la municipalidad. Esta casa representa las raíces de nuestra familia; es un verdadero patrimonio que con mucho cariño cuidamos porque aquí están los nacimientos y las muertes de nuestros padres y abuelos, toda nuestra historia. Las cosas divertidas y trágicas que nos han pasado; la ruina y los momentos de fortalezas económicas. Y por supuesto, el alma y gran parte de la valiosa obra de Ignacio Domeyko. Aún tiene el carácter de casona familiar; pretendemos que alguien la compre y transforme en un museo autovalente, que perdure a través de sus propias actividades y la investigación minera". CASIMIRO DOMEYKO S. LE QUITÓ EL CARÁCTER DE QUINTA A LA CASA; HIZO VIVIENDAS PARA RENTA POR RAFAEL SOTOMAYOR Y SANTO DOMINGO. A UN INCENDIO, DOS ASALTOS -UNO DURANTE LA REVOLUCIÓN DE 1891- Y VARIOS TERREMOTOS HA RESISTIDO LA PROPIEDAD.

Herramientas EL ROJO distingue a la fachada; a mediados del siglo XX era gris perla. EL ROJO distingue a la fachada; a mediados del siglo XX era gris perla. "Cambiamos el color cuando estudiábamos Arquitectura porque se veía muy triste", comenta León Domeyko Pérez, quien al igual que Fernando y Jorge es arquitecto.

El Mercurio de Santiago

Ignas Domeika (isp. Ignacio Domeyko, brus. Ігнат Дамейка, lenk. Ignacy Domejko) – žymus Čilės geologas, mineralogas, etnologas, 1831 m. sukilimo dalyvis, Čilės universiteto Santjage rektorius, Čilės respublikos garbės pilietis. Wikipedia LT

Ignacy Domeyko herbu Dangiel, Ignacy Domejko, pseudonim Żegota – polski geolog, mineralog, inżynier górnictwa, badacz Ameryki Południowej; pierwowzór Żegoty z III części Dziadów Adama Mickiewicza. Wikipedia PL