Thomas Falkner
Encyclopedia
Thomas Falkner was an English Jesuit missionary, active in Patagonia
.
. Later on, having studied medicine under Dr. Richard Mead
, he became a surgeon and practised at his native place.
His own health being delicate, he was advised to take a sea-voyage, and being acquainted with a ship chaplain on board the Assiento, a vessel trading with Guinea
and carrying slaves to Buenos Aires
, he accepted an invitation to accompany the vessel as surgeon. This was in or about 1731. On reaching Buenos Aires he was so ill that the captain was compelled to leave him there in the care of Father Mahoney, the superior of the Jesuit College.
Here he recovered his health, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church
. On 15 May 1732, he entered the Society of Jesus, becoming a member of the Paraguay province. Having spent some time at the Jesuit College of Cordoba del Tucumán in the city of Córdoba, he went as a missionary to the Puelche
s, near Rio Segundo. His knowledge of medicine and mechanics procured for him considerable influence among the Indians.
In 1740 or soon after he was sent to assist Father Strobel in his mission to the Patagonian Indians at Cape San Antonio. For more than thirty years he worked among the Patagonians. In 1768 the Jesuits were expelled from South America.
He returned to England where, in 1771 or 1772, he joined the English province of the Society. He was appointed chaplain to Mr. Berkeley of Spetchley
. On leaving Spetchley, he became chaplain to Mr. Berington of Winsley
in Herefordshire
, and afterwards to the Plowdens of Plowden Hall in Shropshire
.
in present-day Argentina
, an early landmark in Argentinian science. In 1760 Falkner discovered the skeleton of a big armadillo
on the banks of Carcarañá River
, near the village of Santa Fe; many years later the fossil was identified as originating from a glyptodon
.
This event occurred twenty seven years before the Dominican
friar Manuel Torres
discovered the fossil of a megatherium
on the banks of Luján River
in 1787, later studied and described by Georges Cuvier
in 1796.
to Tierra del Fuego
, which on its completion was printed in 1761 at Quito
, and was noted for its accuracy. He also designed a chart of Paraguay in 1757, a chart of the Tucuman in 1759, and several others of less importance.
, who used Falkner's papers. The book was translated into German, French, and Spanish. Another account of the Patagonians due to Father Falkner is found in the works of Thomas Pennant
, who described his essay as "formed from the relation of Fr. Falkner, a Jesuit, who had resided among them thirty-eight years".
After his death, the Spanish Jesuits who had known him in South America were anxious to obtain his unpublished works. They included treatises on the botanical and mineral products of America, and "American distempers as cured by American drugs". It is stated by Fr. Caballero, S.J., that he had also edited "Volumina duo de anatomia corporis humani".
Lake Falkner in Argentina is named after him.
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Life
He was the son of Thomas Falkner, a Manchester apothecary, and obtained his education at the Manchester grammar schoolManchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
. Later on, having studied medicine under Dr. Richard Mead
Richard Mead
Richard Mead was an English physician. His work, A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it , was of historic importance in the understanding of transmissible diseases.-Life:The eleventh child of Matthew Mead , Independent divine, Richard was born...
, he became a surgeon and practised at his native place.
His own health being delicate, he was advised to take a sea-voyage, and being acquainted with a ship chaplain on board the Assiento, a vessel trading with Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and carrying slaves to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, he accepted an invitation to accompany the vessel as surgeon. This was in or about 1731. On reaching Buenos Aires he was so ill that the captain was compelled to leave him there in the care of Father Mahoney, the superior of the Jesuit College.
Here he recovered his health, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. On 15 May 1732, he entered the Society of Jesus, becoming a member of the Paraguay province. Having spent some time at the Jesuit College of Cordoba del Tucumán in the city of Córdoba, he went as a missionary to the Puelche
Puelche
Puelche is the name that the Mapuche used to give the ethnic groups who inhabited the lands to the east of the Andes Mountains including the northern Tehuelches and Hets, these last ones were also known as the Pampas or Querandíes...
s, near Rio Segundo. His knowledge of medicine and mechanics procured for him considerable influence among the Indians.
In 1740 or soon after he was sent to assist Father Strobel in his mission to the Patagonian Indians at Cape San Antonio. For more than thirty years he worked among the Patagonians. In 1768 the Jesuits were expelled from South America.
He returned to England where, in 1771 or 1772, he joined the English province of the Society. He was appointed chaplain to Mr. Berkeley of Spetchley
Spetchley
Spetchley is a hamlet located in the County of Worcestershire, England, and lends its name to the Civil Parish in which the hamlet is located....
. On leaving Spetchley, he became chaplain to Mr. Berington of Winsley
Winsley
Winsley is a village and civil parish west of Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire.-Geography:Winsley is distinctly split into the Old Winsley Village and the Tyning Estate. Some public services can be found in the centre of either of these areas. The B3108 road once passed through the old village but a...
in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, and afterwards to the Plowdens of Plowden Hall in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
.
Scientific discoveries
He is credited with discovering the first fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
in present-day Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, an early landmark in Argentinian science. In 1760 Falkner discovered the skeleton of a big armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
on the banks of Carcarañá River
Carcarañá River
The Carcarañá River is a river in Argentina. It is born at the confluence of the Río Tercero and the Saladillo River in the south-east of the province of Córdoba and flows eastward into the province of Santa Fe, which it crosses.In Santa Fe the river first turns south, then...
, near the village of Santa Fe; many years later the fossil was identified as originating from a glyptodon
Glyptodon
Glyptodon was a large, armored mammal of the family Glyptodontidae, a relative of armadillos that lived during the Pleistocene Epoch. It was roughly the same size and weight as a Volkswagen Beetle, though flatter in shape...
.
This event occurred twenty seven years before the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
friar Manuel Torres
Manuel Torres
Manuel Torres may refer to:* Manuel Montt Torres , president of Chile between 1851 and 1861* Manuel Torre or Manuel Torres , flamenco singer-Sports:*Víctor Torres Mestre , Spanish footballer...
discovered the fossil of a megatherium
Megatherium
Megatherium was a genus of elephant-sized ground sloths endemic to Central America and South America that lived from the Pliocene through Pleistocene existing approximately...
on the banks of Luján River
Luján River
The Luján River runs from its source near Espora about east of Buenos Aires, Argentina to its outflow into the Río de la Plata north of the city.-See also:* List of rivers of Argentina-External links:*...
in 1787, later studied and described by Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
in 1796.
Cartography
He was employed by the Spanish government in 1750 to draw a map of the coast of South America from the south of BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
, which on its completion was printed in 1761 at Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, and was noted for its accuracy. He also designed a chart of Paraguay in 1757, a chart of the Tucuman in 1759, and several others of less importance.
Works
He wrote an account of his Patagonian experiences, which was published at Hereford in 1774 under the title A Description of Patagonia and the adjoining parts of South America, with a grammar and a short vocabulary, and some particulars relating to Falkland's Islands. The book as published was not his original work, but a compilation by William CombeWilliam Combe
William Combe was a British miscellaneous writer. His early life was that of an adventurer, his later was passed chiefly within the "rules" of the King's Bench Prison. He is chiefly remembered as the author of The Three Tours of Dr. Syntax, a comic poem...
, who used Falkner's papers. The book was translated into German, French, and Spanish. Another account of the Patagonians due to Father Falkner is found in the works of Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant was a Welsh naturalist and antiquary.The Pennants were a Welsh gentry family from the parish of Whitford, Flintshire, who had built up a modest estate at Bychton by the seventeenth century...
, who described his essay as "formed from the relation of Fr. Falkner, a Jesuit, who had resided among them thirty-eight years".
After his death, the Spanish Jesuits who had known him in South America were anxious to obtain his unpublished works. They included treatises on the botanical and mineral products of America, and "American distempers as cured by American drugs". It is stated by Fr. Caballero, S.J., that he had also edited "Volumina duo de anatomia corporis humani".
Lake Falkner in Argentina is named after him.