First Doctor of Science in St. Louis

chronobium

In the nineteenth century, institutions in Europe, particularly in Germany, were awarding Ph.DIn the tradition of large enterprises, such as the Freiberg mining enterprise, which is based on professors The royal mining school that arrived in New Spain in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

Many of them were European-trained Latin American scholars who, upon their return, made important contributions to science through specialized publications. throughout the turbulent nineteenth century. especiallyr, the Mexican Vicente de Ortigosa, was certainly the first doctoral student from the American continent which he obtained his certificate from University of Giessen, Germany, in 1842. His research work, under the tutelage of J.voN Liebig, allowed him to establish the composition of nicotine for the first time.

Thirty years later, there is a record of another Mexican who also studied in Germany, Pedro Garza of Potosi.who wants to be The first PhD student from San Luis Potosi and, ultimately, the first PhD student in San Luis and possibly the second in the country.

In 1874 a Mexican reporter, A Mexican newspaper sent an article to La Tribuna about the defense of the doctoral dissertation of Pedro Dionisio de la Garza from San Luis Potosi And what was attached Official Gazette of the State of San Luis Potosi on March 11, 1874. He was studied in Germany in a distinguished way by obtaining a distinction in his final examination in which he presented his thesis on the optical properties of crystals and contributed to their understanding.because apparently by his work his contribution is recorded in the list of new inventions or discoveries. The young Garza discovered a new method for constructing the optical and double refractive axes in isotropic crystals.; What’s more, He was the first to propose the formula for a polarized cylinder in the crystals themselves. Upon his return, he is contemplated for math courses at a high school, presumably in Mexico City. And the reporter points out that it is the first work to be published in Spanish, so it will be The first Spanish speaking student pursuing a PhD at the University of Göttingen.

Upon his return to Mexico, he devoted himself to teaching mathematics lessons in a preparatory school and drew attention to his knowledge, considering him a wise man. in response to the expectations aroused and urged by his arrival from Germany Obtaining a place for him so that he can perform his academic activity. state gazette, Zaragoza shadow About a month and a half after the previous warrant, he returned to the case of young Garza, reproducing a note from the federation. And theIn this note, we can learn about the age of twenty-three-year-old Pedro Garza and the possibility of his return to Germany.. In that short period of residence since his return, he has not yet found a place to exercise his academic activity, and the courses in which he has taught classes on mathematical subjects, appear to be irregular courses in the Lyceum, perhaps from the capital of the Republic.

for the month of August Pedro Garza is already installed in San Luis Potosí and publishes an advertisement offering his services in mathematics, physics and mechanics to the general public, Beside German language teacher. in In the same August of that year, He managed to enter the Scientific and Literary Institute of San Luis Potosi, Take charge of the institute’s sub-management. His assignment in the Sub-Directorate was also due to the fact that classes beginning in January and ending in November were in progress, and in this first period at the Scientific and Literary Institute of San Luis Potosi he offered no regular course in the Institute and contributed in supporting tasks to the direction of the Institute.

Apparently, Pedro Garza returned to Germany and would continue for at least three and a half years to return later to San Luis Potosi, rejoining the Scientific Institute of San Luis.

Even at the beginning of JuneIn 1877 Pedro Garza returned to San Luis Potosi ready to join the Scientific Institute, bringing with him a valuable load of books and equipment for the Institute’s various offices.

At the end of the month mentioned, in the Act of Protocol, He took the protest to Pedro Garza as deputy director of the Scientific and Literary Institute of San Luis Potosi. Garza arrives again in the middle of the school year, so on this new occasion he does not formally lecture at the Institute. a At the end of that month, Pedro Garza was appointed Professor at the Institute, and assumed the chair of the Department of Synthetic Engineering. Which is not clear if it was actually part of the study plan or was proposed to be delivered by Pedro Garza himself.

It is important to note that although other figures who participated in the public, political and cultural life of San Luis Potosi in the nineteenth century, although unknown, have transcended, and there are records, the case of Pedro Garza is not fully known. . Dr. Pedro Garza, the first doctor of sciences of San Luis Potosi and therefore the first doctor to be awarded by the Scientific and Literary Institute of San Luis Potosi in the 1970s. This status is important, since it is now an autonomous university San Luis Potosi had two Doctors of Science in the 1950s and in the 1970s had only three Doctors of Science degrees. Currently, the UASLP has more than 600 professors holding Ph.D.

Also read: Pioneering Astronomy Publishing in San Luis Potosi | Column by JR Martínez / Dr. flash