ANDRÉS MANUEL DEL RÍO: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS, AWARDS, WORKS - ARTE - 2025

Andrés Manuel del Río (1764-1849) was a chemist and mineralogist known for being the discoverer of vanadium. The scientist was born in Spain in 1765, but most of his career was developed in Mexico, where he arrived to occupy the position of professor of chemistry at the Royal Mining Seminary when the country was still Spanish colonial territory.

His qualities for science led Andrés Manuel del Río to be supported by the Spanish government to study with the best European chemists. After that period of training, he was sent to Mexico to teach and conduct research on his specialty. In order to give his lessons, the scientist had to publish his own reference book.

Andrés Manuel del Río - Source: English: Anonymous Spanish: Anonymous

In 1801 he made his best-known discovery: a metallic element that he called erythronium. However, a series of circumstances caused that its achievement was not recognized until years later, when the element was already known as vanadium.

Del Río was also a deputy of the Spanish Cortes in 1820 on behalf of Pachuca and supported the independence of his adopted country. Later, he lived for a time in the United States, where he continued to publish his works. His last years were spent in Mexico, without stopping investigating at any time.

Biography

Andrés Manuel del Río came to the world on November 10, 1765, in Madrid. At the age of nine he entered the San Isidro Institute in the Spanish city. In those formative years he showed great interest in learning Latin and Greek.

While still a child he began his studies at the University of Alcalá de Henares. In this institution he was trained in literature, philosophy and theology, the latter subject in which he graduated when he was fifteen years old.

The following year, in 1781, he began studying physics at the same educational center. Thanks to his talent, recognized by José Solana, his teacher, the Spanish government granted him a scholarship in 1782 to join the Royal Academy of Mines of Almadén and, in this way, train in mineralogy and underground geometry.

The Spanish Crown had set out to improve Spanish science and industry. For this, in addition to granting aid for students, it was hiring foreign teachers who could increase the level of students. One of those professors was Heinrich C. Storr, who taught Andrés Manuel in Almadén.

Training in Europe

Within the program of the Spanish Crown were also included aid for the most notable students to complete their training in other European countries. Andrés Manuel del Río was one of the beneficiaries and his first destination was the Collège de France, where he studied porcelain with the chemist Jean D'Arcet.

The young man stayed in France for four years and, in addition to porcelain, he also received training in mineral analysis, anatomy, physiology and natural history, among other disciplines.

In 1788, del Río entered the Freiberg and Schemnitz schools of mines in Saxony and Hungary respectively. In these educational centers he benefited from the teachings of famous scientists of the time, including Abraham G. Werner, one of his great influences.

In addition, Andrés Manuel del Río shared classes with Alexander von Humboldt, who would play an important role in the discovery of vanadium.

After two years of stay in the mentioned schools, the scientist was sent to Upper Hungary and Bohemia. During his journey, Del Río stopped in Paris, just after the French Revolution.

According to some authors, during his stay in Paris he received classes from the father of chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier. Although the information is not confirmed, these historians affirm that del Río left the city when his teacher was beheaded at the guillotine.

Arrival in Mexico

A former colleague from Freiberg, Fausto de Elhuyar, was the one who recommended Andrés Manuel del Río as the most suitable professional to fill the position of professor of chemistry at the Royal Seminary of Mining of Mexico.

De Elhuyar, general manager of mines in New Spain, had come to Mexico a few years earlier to improve the performance of the deposits and introduce more modern mining techniques. In addition, he was commissioned to open a seminary for the teaching of the miners' children.

The request received an affirmative answer and Del Río accepted to occupy the Chair of Mineralogy, since he thought that he mastered this subject better than chemistry. The scientist left for America in 1794 from the port of Cádiz.

Mineralogy classes

The institution where Del Río was to teach, the Real Seminario de Minería, had been created in 1792. The objective of its foundation was to train future experts and mining experts to increase the profits obtained.

As previously mentioned, Andrés Manuel del Río taught mineralogy classes. In addition, thanks to the contacts made during his stays in various European countries, he got famous scientists to come to the center. Among them, the Baron de Humboldt, in 1803.

In its first year, Del Río had ten students. Given the lack of didactic material, the scientist had to give each of the lessons. Those notes were the basis of the first edition of one of his best known works: Elements of Orictognosia.

Baron of Humboldt

Del Río's initiative allowed his students to have a reference book for the following years. On the other hand, he soon began to organize visits from important foreign scientific figures. One of the most outstanding stays was that of the Baron de Humboldt, in 1803, who acted as an examiner during the year he was in New Spain.

It was during this stay that Del Río gave his guest samples of a mineral that he had found in 1801. At first, Andrés Manuel del Río had baptized the element as panchromium, although later he changed the name to erythronium.

Although the discovery went through several vicissitudes before being recognized as a new chemical element, today that metal is called vanadium.

War of independence

Daily life in New Spain was completely altered with the beginning of the War of Independence in 1810. The Seminary was no exception and part of its students dropped out of classes to join the insurgents.

Two years later, Del Río left for Guatemala, where he advised on various projects and in the search for mercury and iron mines. On his return, Mexico City appointed him honorary councilor.

Deputy in the liberal courts

Del Río's next trip was to Spain. The scientist, a supporter of Mexican independence, was chosen to represent the miners of Pachuca in the Spanish Cortes.

During his stay in Spain, the government offered him the management of the Almadén mines, but Del Río rejected the offer.

The following year, Mexico declared its independence. At the Seminary, all the teachers were new, with the exception of Del Río himself and Fausto de Elhuyar. The latter preferred to return to Spain, while the former remained in the new country.

Voluntary exile

Andrés Manuel del Río continued teaching classes at the Seminary until the arrival of the Mexican Republic. A decree of the Senate, promulgated in 1828, declared the expulsion of all Spaniards, although it established some exceptions.

Del Río, due to its merits, fell within the exceptions to the decree. However, the scientist chose to follow the fate of the expelled Spaniards and went into exile to the United States. In that country, he took up residence in Philadelphia and became a member of the American Philosophical Society.

Last years

His stay in the United States lasted until 1835, when he decided to return to Mexico and resume his Chair in Mineralogy, this time at the National College of Mining. Likewise, he was a member of a commission that had the task of preparing a geological map of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Del Río remained active until his death, on May 23, 1849. Among his latest works, his Manual of Geology, published in 1841, stands out.

Contributions and discoveries

Andrés Manuel del Río's most important discovery was that of a new chemical element: vanadium. Apart from this find, he also discovered other compounds, such as blue silver or the alloy of rhodium and gold.

Although his scientific research was very relevant, his biographers emphasize his decisive contribution in shaping the scientific networks of Mexico. From the Chair he held, Del Río was essential to promote the presence in institutions of mineralogy, chemistry and geology.

It also had a very important role in the formation of the first societies dedicated to science in independent Mexico.

Vanadium

The discovery of vanadium took place in 1801, when Del Río was examining mineral samples obtained in Zimapán, in the State of Hidalgo. When studying these samples, the scientist realized that he had found a metal element not yet described.

After conducting several tests, Del Río named the element panchromium, since it featured several different colors. Later, he renamed the mineral and called it erythronium, since he observed that when heated the dominant color was red.

Taking advantage of the presence of Alexander von Humboldt at the Seminar, Del Río gave him samples of the new element. It was at that moment when a series of circumstances began that delayed the recognition of the find.

From erythronium to vanadium

Von Humboldt sent the samples to Paris, to be analyzed by Collet-Descotils. An error in those analyzes caused the laboratory to claim that the samples contained only chromium.

Faced with this result, which Von Humboldt completely believed, Del Río himself began to distrust his analysis.

It was not until 1831 that another chemist, E. Wöhler, returned to study the samples found by Del Río. On that occasion, the scientist got strange results. However, an illness prevented further investigation. Around the same time, a Swedish chemist, N. Sefström, claimed to have found a new metal.

Wöhler, now recovered, returned to the studies that he had left incomplete. Finally, he was able to show that Del Río was right: it was a new chemical element.

Upon learning the information, Del Río claimed authorship of the discovery. Although he did achieve the recognition of having found it first, the final name of the element was the one that Sefström had given it: vanadium.

First industrial foundry in Latin America

One of the most important contributions of Andrés del Río had nothing to do with science. Thus, when Spain was defeated at Trafalgar, the colony was in danger of shortages, especially of some metals.

Del Río then promoted the establishment of what became the first industrial steel and iron foundry in all of Latin America, located in Michoacán.

Likewise, the design of a sewer pump for mines was also highly valued, representing a great advance for the time.

Elements of Orictognosia

Although the publications and articles signed by Del Río were very numerous, among them was his work Elements of Orictognosia. As has been pointed out, the origin of this book was the notes that the scientist dictated to his students at the Mining Seminar.

The result was an important reference work that continued to be used in Mexico for almost a hundred years.

In 1846, despite his advanced age, Del Río published a new edition of the book. In it he added a good part of his experience in the field of mineralogy, in addition to making a comparison between the mines in Mexico and those in Europe and the United States. Finally, he explained a new technique for observing minerals using the petrographic microscope.

Other contributions

Andrés Manuel del Río was also the discoverer of other elements, such as mercury selenide, as well as the natural alloy of rhodium and gold.

Other outstanding publications were Manual de Geología (1841), a work in which he described the fossils of the fauna and flora found in Mexico. In addition, he translated important scientific papers, such as the Mineralogical Tables, by DLG Karsten, to which he incorporated his comments and those of Humboldt.

Awards and honours

During his life, Del Río saw recognized his scientific merits and his contribution to the development of independent Mexico.

The scientist was part of numerous associations, such as the Royal Academy of Natural Sciences in Madrid, the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France, the Linnean Society of Leipzig or the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia.

Posthumous tribute

Shortly after his death, Andrés Manuel del Río received a public tribute held at the Colegio de Minería. The event was attended by political authorities, students and teachers in order to recognize all the contributions of the scientist to the country.

On the other hand, the Chemical Society of Mexico established the Andrés Manuel del Río Prize in 1964 to reward chemists who stand out in their professional field.

Published works

Andrés del Río was the author of numerous scientific works, including articles, books and transcripts of his speeches. His biographers have counted around a hundred publications.

These were published in various countries and translated into different languages ​​and cover all fields of work of the scientist.

Outstanding scientific work

- Elements of Orictognosia or of the knowledge of fossils, arranged according to the principles of AG Werner, for the use of the Royal Seminary of Mining of Mexico. 1795.

- Analyze deux nouvelles mineral specimens made up of zinc selenium and mercure sulfur. Annales des Mines, Paris, 5, 1829.

- Découverte de l´iodure de mercure au Mexique. Annals des Mines, Paris, 5, 1829.

- Elements of Orictognosia, or the knowledge of fossils according to the Bercelian system; and according to the principles of Abraham Gottlob Werner, with English, German and French synonymy, for use by the National Mining Seminary of Mexico. Philadelphia 1832.

References

1. Biographies and Lives. Andrés Manuel del Río. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
2. Royal Academy of History. Andrés Manuel del Río and Fernández. Obtained from dbe.rah.es
3. Villa Roman, Elisa. The chemical element discovered in Mexico. Obtained from eluniversal.com.mx
4. The Biography. Biography of Andrés Manuel del Río (1764-1849). Retrieved from thebiography.us
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vanadium. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Caswell, Lyman R. Andrés del Río, Alexander von Humboldt and the twice-discovered element. Recovered from acshist.scs.illinois.edu
7. Revolvy. Andrés Manuel del Río. Retrieved from revolvy.com
8. Alchetron. Andrés Manuel del Río. Retrieved from alchetron.com
9. Funk, Tyler. The Life of Andres Manuel Del Rio and the Discovery of a New Element - Vanadium. Retrieved from hubpages.com